


You've Tattooed My Heart

by ClearSkyBlue



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hyunghyuk if you squint, I forgot to add this earlier lol, I try not to be explicit about bc the story is not about that, M/M, Piercings, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Tattoos, as in squint enough you close your eyes and imagine Hyunghyuk, but be aware that it is mentioned, cheesy titles are cheesy, ish, ish-ier, ish-iest, tbh I am not even sure if it is angst and hurt and comfort but we'll go with it, there is mention of past toxic relationships, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-05-27 01:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 55,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClearSkyBlue/pseuds/ClearSkyBlue
Summary: Kihyun only wanted to do his job in peace, to live his life in peace, to not fall in love again any time soon, but with the handsome customer that would not stop flirting with him and the shadow of his past broken relationship looming over him, Kihyun found that quite impossible.





	1. 1:

**Author's Note:**

> HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!  
> Welcome to my new Kiho fic!  
> This is a long time coming, and it's loooooonnnngggggg. It is completed though, so it is going to be uploading to its end.  
> PSA SPOILER: KIHO KIHO KIHO THIS IS KIHO THERE IS PLENTY KIHYUK IN THIS CHAPTER BUT IT'S MOSTLY ALL HERE YA'LL IT'S KIHO "SMOOTH" SAILING AFTER THIS  
> I hope you enjoy your read below and more notes at the end ^.^

 

The first time Hoseok stepped through the doors of the parlor, Kihyun was in the process of finishing his apprenticeship. He had come with his friend (too much time had passed for Kihyun to remember his name). They were getting matching tattoos. _Cute_ , Kihyun had thought, not really meaning it. It was common for friends to come to the shop to do that. Minhyuk sat him down in front of Hoseok, introducing Hoseok to him, while he took a seat in front of the friend.

 

“This right here,” Minhyuk placed his hand on Kihyun’s shoulder, “is my most amazing, most skilled, most gifted, most artful-” He paused for emphasis, closing his eyes and forming a fist with his free hand, “apprentice.”

 

_And your only one,_ Kihyun almost added but knew he could not. Minhyuk had a story to sell. He instead rolled his eyes and smiled.

 

“This man,” Minhyuk ran his hand up and down Kihyun’s arm, “has a bright future in tattooing. I mean - look at this.” Minhyuk showed Hoseok the side of his middle finger that faced his ring finger. A calligraphy tattoo, Kihyun had tattooed it on him a few months ago. Minhyuk loved it. Kihyun had expressed a sigh of relief when Minhyuk had first shown his love for the tattoo since Minhyuk was picky with his finger tattoos and would not let anyone but himself tattoo them. Letting Kihyun tattoo his fingers was a spur of the moment thing, a sign that Minhyuk trusted him. “And this,” Minhyuk pulled down his shirt to show his collarbone. It was an ancient proverb that Minhyuk liked to live by. Kihyun liked that tattoo better. “And his own arm,” Minhyuk grabbed Kihyun’s left wrist and showed them the tattoo that was on Kihyun’s forearm. It was a small tattoo that ran three-quarters across the side Kihyun’s forearm to his wrist. They were a few words of encouragement. A small message for every time Kihyun was feeling tired and wanting to give up on his goals. “Now, I know that the thought of getting tattooed by an apprentice must be scary, but Kihyun here is a professional. He won’t d-”

 

“I’ll do it,” Hoseok spoke up. Minhyuk, Kihyun, and even his friend looked at him in shock. Hoseok was looking straight at Kihyun, intensely. It stirred something inside of Kihyun.

 

“Really?” Minhyuk asked. Hoseok nodded. His eyes still on Kihyun. Kihyun broke eye contact only to look at Minhyuk. Minhyuk looked back at him and nodded. “Well, alright then,” he smiled.

 

“Dude, are you sure?” Hoseok’s friend whispered, maybe in hopes that Kihyun would not hear him, to Hoseok. Hoseok only nodded.

 

Kihyun understood why the friend asked that question. Technically, Kihyun was not allowed to tattoo on other people yet. He was still an apprentice who was yet to be certified. Hyunwoo only let him tattoo on fruits and the such. He would not even let Kihyun get near skin with a needle in hand. Jooheon just did not even want to see Kihyun with a needle. He only allowed Kihyun to watch him tattoo other people. Minhyuk was different. He thought Kihyun needed real experience to learn how to tattoo, which is why he has let Kihyun tattoo on him. He had never allowed Kihyun to tattoo on other people. Until now, that was. Minhyuk was feeling bold, and today was Hyunwoo’s day off, too, and Jooheon tended to turn the other cheek whenever Minhyuk pulled out shit like this.

 

“What a relief,” Minhyuk sighed. “We normally work by appointments in this parlor and don’t have time for walk-ins. You guys are lucky my 3 o’clock canceled last minute. However, I have someone at five, so I could only really tattoo one of you well.” Both customers nodded. Minhyuk turned to Hoseok, “don’t worry, Mr. Lee.” He placed his hand on Kihyun’s, “Kihyun here really is really good.”

 

Hoseok smiled and nodded, “I bet he is.” Kihyun had to look away, actually a bit flustered. Hoseok's nice smile was something to acknowledge.

 

Minhyuk grinned, “well, then, let’s get going.” Minhyuk briefly explained the tattoo and its design to Kihyun. It was calligraphy; obviously, since Minhyuk had made a big deal about Kihyun being good at calligraphy a few minutes ago. It was a foot tattoo. Interesting placement, Kihyun absently thought. Minhyuk guided Kihyun through the tattoo placement even though he praised him for not needing the guiding.

 

Kihyun grabbed the tattoo machine and looked over it and his work area to make sure that everything was in order. He was good at what he did, but there was a difference between tattooing fruit and Minhyuk and tattooing an actual customer. He would hate for his first customer’s tattoo to be messed up.

 

“Are these you guys’ first tattoos?” Minhyuk asked casually. Hoseok and his friend nodded. “Ah, first tattoos are always memorable.” Minhyuk was good at small talk. That was something Kihyun still lacked. “I still remember what my first tattoo was,” Minhyuk chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“What is it?” the friend asked.

 

“A sun on my shoulder blade,” Minhyuk answered. Kihyun chuckled at the thought of that tattoo. Yes, it was a sun, a completely discolored sun Minhyuk told him that he got on his eighteenth birthday and completely regretted. It was long covered up. Kihyun had the misfortune of never seeing it in person.

 

“What about you?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun stopped tattooing and look up at Hoseok to make sure that he was talking to him. The way Hoseok looked at him, with half-lidded eyes and a soft smile, it made Kihyun’s breath hitch and his heart speed up. Kihyun showed his left arm with the hand facing up and pointed to the tattoo right below his elbow joint. It was the geometric tattoo of a fox’s head. Kihyun did not explain the tattoo. He was too captivated by Hoseok’s gaze. He needed to snap out of it, dammit. “Oh, that’s pretty,” Hoseok grinned at the tattoo. Kihyun nodded and looked down, focusing on tattooing again. He knew his cheeks were rose. He could feel Minhyuk’s gaze on him.

 

Minhyuk cleared his throat. “Kihyun tattooed that on himself. That’s just how good he is,” he said.

 

“Wow,” Hoseok exclaimed, “I made a good choice then.” Kihyun refused to look up, but he had a feeling Hoseok was giving him another look.

 

“Indeed,” Minhyuk said, “really, it would've been impossible to take you two, so thanks for giving Kihyun a chance.” Kihyun half nodded, half bowed his head in gratitude before Minhyuk could kick him for not doing so.

 

The tattoos were done just in time. No more conversation went on as Minhyuk and Kihyun focused on their work. Hoseok and his friend expressed their excitement and satisfaction with their tattoos. They constantly thanked Minhyuk and Kihyun for the tattoos as they did the final proceedings and payments.

 

Hoseok grabbed Kihyun’s hands. “Thank you,” he said sincerely, smiled, and squeezed Kihyun’s hand softly.

 

Kihyun nodded while moving to look down. He then shook his head, “it’s not big deal really.” He took a deep breath and looked up, smiling, “this is my passion.”

 

Hoseok put his other warm hand on top of Kihyun’s. “You will do great. I know it,” he told Kihyun. “I'm rooting for you.”

 

“Thank you,” Kihyun whispered. Hoseok smiled and let go of Kihyun’s hand, stepping back to stand next to his friend.

 

“That’s right, dude,” Hoseok’s friend wrapped an arm around Hoseok, “we got our first tattoos!”

 

Minhyuk stepped next to Kihyun, wrapped his arm around Kihyun's shoulder. “Not bad for a first tattoo, congrats!”

 

“Thanks again for the tattoos,” the friend waved as he and Hoseok walked out of the shop. “Have a nice day!”

 

“You, too!” Minhyuk said and the bell on top of the door rang when the two friends finally left. Minhyuk smiled, “they seem like nice people.” Kihyun looked up at him, nodding. “Should I have told that Hoseok guy that you were my boyfriend?” He brought Kihyun closer to him.

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes and grinned, “oh please, he was just a customer. Don’t worry about it.” He patted Minhyuk’s chest and Minhyuk leaned down a little to kiss Kihyun.

 

Kihyun kissed him back and moved his free hand to rest on Minhyuk’s cheek. Kisses like this were quite welcomed by Kihyun, but they were not quite welcomed by shop itself.

 

“Excuse me!” Jooheon yelled from the back of the shop, where he was tattooing someone’s shoulder blade. “Can you not do that in the middle of the shop? Thank you!”

 

Kihyun and Minhyuk broke their kiss, chuckling. “Can you clean the front work area? My next appointment should be coming in around ten minutes,” Minhyuk then said against Kihyun’s lips.

 

“I hate you,” Kihyun said, still smiling.

 

“Sure, you do,” he separated himself from Kihyun and push him towards the work area. “Let’s go,” he slapped Kihyun’s butt before leaving to one of the back rooms.

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes before doing what he had been asked. This was one thing about being an apprentice. An apprentice was the shop’s bitch. They had to do everything they were told. Kihyun was not too fond of this side of the apprenticeship, but he dealt with it well.

 

As he cleaned the equipment, he thought back to Hoseok. Hoseok and his pretty smile and nice eyes that somehow looked at him like they wanted to know everything about him. It was strange. He blushed. It was an interesting experience, but he was still just a customer, so it did not matter. Kihyun might forget about the strange feelings he gave him and only remember him as his first customer at a tattoo shop ever.

 

True to how he thought, Kihyun had forgotten about Hoseok and his friend whose name he was never able to retain by the end of the night, where he was blissfully lying on Minhyuk’s bed, until Minhyuk decided to bring him up again, still clearly having him fresh in his memory.

 

“Damn, I really should not have let you tattoo today,” Minhyuk said out of nowhere, putting his hands behind his head.

 

Kihyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at Minhyuk, “and why not?”

 

“Because,” Minhyuk moved to his side, facing Kihyun, “I really did not like the way Hoseok was looking at you.”

 

“Hoseok?” Kihyun had already briefly forgotten his name. “The customer? Are you serious?” Minhyuk nodded, protruding his lips out, pouting. Kihyun scoffed and rolled his eyes, “oh please, he’s not the first one.”

 

“Yeah, but he’s the first one you’ve paid attention to,” Minhyuk whined.

 

Kihyun sighed, “because I had to, Minhyuk.”

 

“Because I let you, Kihyun,” Minhyuk said back.

 

Kihyun sat up slightly next to Minhyuk. He hovered over Minhyuk and placed his hands on Minhyuk’s cheeks. He moved down and briefly kissed Minhyuk on the lips. “I only love you, Minhyuk. Get that through your thick head,” he prodded Minhyuk’s forehead.

 

Minhyuk chuckled, “maybe it’ll get through my thick head if you kiss me again.” Kihyun smiled at him before leaning down to kiss him again.

 

They stayed like that for some time, only giving themselves continuous soft pecks and kisses. They were already too tired to do anything else. Minhyuk was the one to stop this, much to Kihyun’s dismay. “Wait,” he put his hands on Kihyun’s bare chest, “sit up.”

 

Kihyun sighed and sat up. Minhyuk sat up with Kihyun and placed his hands on Kihyun’s shoulders, moving him so that Kihyun’s back faced him. Minhyuk hummed, trailing his hand up and down Kihyun’s back. Kihyun knew what he was doing. “Have you thought of what you want to get here?” Minhyuk asked.

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, not really.”

 

“It’s so bare - ah, I know!” Minhyuk placed a hand on Kihyun’s shoulder and started tracing something with his free hand on Kihyun’s shoulder blade. Words, Kihyun could feel, possibly written in the Latin alphabet. Kihyun did not have to guess for long. “Min…” Minhyuk muttered. “Hy…” he said as he wrote each letter quickly. “Uk’s,” he finished with swift motions that Kihyun assumed were hearts.

 

Kihyun scoffed. Minhyuk and he had an unspoken agreement of never tattooing each other’s names on their bodies. It was a curse. It would cause them to break up. There had been countless instances where a person came to the tattoo parlor to get their significant other tattooed and then came months later to have that name covered up. Like hell would Kihyun let Minhyuk tattoo his name on his body. “Yeah, fucking try to do that and you’ll wake up with a hyper-realistic throbbing dick tattooed on your forehead.”

 

Minhyuk gasped to sound dramatic and offended, “you wouldn’t dare!”

 

Kihyun removed Minhyuk’s hand from his shoulder and turned to look at his boyfriend, “and you shouldn’t dare.” He poked Minhyuk’s chest.

 

Minhyuk chuckled and grabbed his hand, giving it a kiss, “I want to tell the whole world that you’re mine.” He yawned and fell back on the bed, taking Kihyun down with him. Kihyun turning to face away from Minhyuk in an attempt to get more comfortable. “I think a big tattoo will look good on you,” Minhyuk said as he moved closer to Kihyun.

 

Kihyun hummed tiredly, “maybe, just make sure it doesn’t look like I am part of the Yakuza.”

 

Kihyun felt Minhyuk nodding from behind him. He was really close, spooning Kihyun. Kihyun could feel his breathing on his neck. “I’ll make sure you do,” he said and wrapped his arms around Kihyun’s waist. His hand rolled into a fist and relaxed continuously as if he was trying to reach for something he could not quite get. He normally did that when he wanted to hold Kihyun’s hand, so Kihyun lowered his hand from under the pillow and grabbed Minhyuk’s hand.

 

Minhyuk smiled against his neck, “I love you, Ki.”

 

Kihyun nodded, “good night, Minhyuk.” Minhyuk squeezed him tightly, but not too uncomfortably.

 

Once Kihyun felt Minhyuk’s breath even, signaling that he was asleep, he frowned. He pulled his hand away from Minhyuk and unwrapped himself from his boyfriend, putting space between them in the large bed.

 

Sometimes, being around Minhyuk could be suffocating for Kihyun.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this note was deleted for some reason....  
> I will try to write something for it so that you are not left hanging, even if the next chapter it already up lmao.   
> This is the shortest chapter. It is very short compared to all the others lol  
> All the Kihyuk is basically here. It's Kiho from now on baby  
> I don't know much about tattoos, but I did my research by looking at blogs of tattoo artists and people who have gotten tattoos. I hope it is a little bit accurate ^^  
> There are many tattoo artist wonho fics out there, so I wanted to switch it around lol that's why this exists  
> I hope you all enjoy this ride with all its ups and downs! Thank you for all the comments and kudos! I try to answer to all the comments though I might take some time to lol


	2. 2:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet again.

  
  
  


It only took a couple of more months for Kihyun to finish his apprenticeship. Once he received his certification to be an official tattoo artist, he was hired by Hyunwoo’s shop immediately. He was well liked and extremely skillful, two of the main things Hyunwoo looked at when searching for tattoo artists. He was grateful for the opportunity. 

 

Six months since the first time Kihyun saw Hoseok would pass before Kihyun saw him again. He was a tattoo artist now with his own customers and equipment and chair. He had settled in very well. 

 

Most significant of all, most tragic maybe, he had broken up with Minhyuk.

 

Kihyun was still thinking of what exactly went wrong in the relationship. They were completely smitten with each other at the beginning two years ago or so, but as time went on, Kihyun saw himself as less enthusiastic than Minhyuk when it came to the relationship. At first, he thought it was just their personality differences, but Kihyun soon saw that it was more than that, and all those feelings and doubts he had over his relationship with Minhyuk soon culminated and exploded like a giant mega volcano would. To say that their relationship fell apart nastily was an understatement. Kihyun still felt bad about it. 

 

He never really had time to deal with the feelings left after the breakup. To have his tattoo certification now meant that he now had to build his brand. Minhyuk had helped at the beginning before their breakup, promoting him in his social media platforms and such. Minhyuk was one of the biggest tattoo artists in the area and was widely recognized by tattoo fanatics. Having Minhyuk promote meant a lot of drive to his own social media platforms where Kihyun promoted his tattoos. Working in Hyunwoo’s shop was good, too, considering Minhyuk also worked there and Hyunwoo and Jooheon were also widely recognized tattoo artists. 

 

It was not long before Kihyun himself had his whole scheduled filled with people who wanted to get tattooed by him. Kihyun was more than proud of himself. He had accomplished his dreams still being in his mid-twenties. Never in his life did he think he would make it this far this fast. 

 

Today, it became even better. Kihyun finally finished cleaning his new private workspace. In this shop, every artist had their own room where they would do the consultations, the tattoos that took more than two hours and/or the tattoos that were in private areas. There was also a common area for tattooing. That was where the tattoo artists normally spent their time tattooing since they could engage with each other better. They enjoyed each other's company way too much. If one of them wanted to do all their tattoos in their private room, they were allowed to, but it was not as much fun. Kihyun was given a room when he was hired. He just needed to clean it out and decorate it, because it had been used as storage before. In the meantime, he had shared a room with Minhyuk and then with Jooheon. 

 

Now, Kihyun had his own room, filled with his own artwork and only his artwork. His best pieces were hung in the common area where customers could look at them, so these were his second best but still amazing pieces. Kihyun was happy. He was so happy. Finally, the rest of his life could continue like he wanted it to. 

 

There was a knock on his door. Kihyun turned around and saw Changkyun, the shop’s newest apprentice, by the door. “Kihyun,” Changkyun said, “are you free at the moment?” 

 

Kihyun looked at the clock hanging on the wall. He nodded, “you said my next appointment was at three, so yeah, I have an hour or so. Why?” 

 

Changkyun pointed in the direction of the front of the shop, “there’s a customer outside. Asked for you by name.” 

 

Kihyun tilted his head, “really?” It would not be the first time. Maybe it was someone that found him through social media. Changkyun hummed and nodded, walked back to the front of the shop. Kihyun followed in tow. The private rooms were in a rather longish hallway, and Kihyun was in one of the last rooms. 

 

Once in the common area, Kihyun followed Changkyun to the front counter area that separated the tattooing area from the waiting area. There was a man waiting by the counter, pretty good-looking. He looked slightly familiar. Kihyun wondered why. 

 

“He wants to do a consultation,” Changkyun motioned to the man.

 

Kihyun nodded, humming. Normally, he scheduled consultations. The customer and he talked via email a few times before actually meeting in person. However, he would not mind doing this person’s consultation now. He had time. Plus, Kihyun wanted to know if he knew him from somewhere. 

 

“He said that you only scheduled appointments, which I completely forgot about, again,” the customer hit himself on the forehead. “So if anything, I wished to do a consultation,” and then he smiled but his smile fell again, “and then he said consultations are appointments, too.”

 

Kihyun’s throat dried up and he looked down to clear it. Flashbacks came back, flashbacks of his first customer a few months ago. They had the same nice smile. He looked back up at the man. Could it be him? He was bleached blond now. It was not a bad look. “It’s okay,” Kihyun said, “I have time now.” He went ahead and opened the door gate that separated to waiting area from the tattoo area. “Please come in,” Kihyun said, and the man followed. It came to Kihyun that he still did not know the man’s name. “Your name is…?”

 

The man looked at him. “Hoseok,” he said, “Lee Hoseok.” 

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened, because it was the same guy. “Wait, you’re the one I tattooed-” 

 

Hoseok nodded, “and I still love it. Thank you. That’s why I asked for you by name. Ah, congrats on finishing your apprenticeship.” He grinned. 

 

Kihyun looked down, blushing. He questioned himself on why he reacted like this and why it was with Hoseok again and only Hoseok. “Thanks, I guess.” He cleared his throat and looked up again, “please, follow me.” He needed to get it together and get back to work. 

 

As he walked across the common tattooing area, Kihyun felt an extra pair of eyes on him. He looked over at where Minhyuk was tattooing casually in case it was him, and it was. Minhyuk stopped tattooing his client and looked at him and looked at Hoseok, frowning. Kihyun wondered if he remembered Hoseok. He probably did. Minhyuk would not shut up about him for days after his first visit. Kihyun frowned and looked forward. Minhyuk had no right caring and disapproving of the people Kihyun tattooed, not anymore. 

 

“Please, sit here,” Kihyun motioned to the chair next to him by his desk in his private room. 

 

Hoseok walked slowly towards the chair. His eyes were on all the artwork on the walls. “Wow, amazing,” he said as he looked around.

 

Kihyun gave Hoseok a quick smile as the latter sat down. “So what do you wish to get done?” Kihyun asked. He clasped his hands and put them on the table. 

 

“Calligraphy,” Hoseok said, still distracted by the art on the walls. Kihyun thought that it meant he did a good job on the walls. “Words, like the other tattoo, kinda,” Hoseok finished. 

 

“Okay,” Kihyun nodded. “What do you want tattooed? Where? And what font?”  

 

“Ah,” Hoseok took his phone out of his pocket. He tapped on it a few times and showed Kihyun a photo of the quote he wanted. Kihyun read the quote out loud, nodding afterward. “And in this font,” he swiped to the next photo. It was just the letters of the alphabet in a pretty looking font, an easy one too. “Here,” he pointed to his upper thigh. 

 

Kihyun nodded, thinking about how the tattoo was going to look. “May I see the pictures, please?” He stuck his hands out in front of him politely. 

 

“Yes,” Wonho nodded and gave Kihyun the phone. 

 

Kihyun put the phone on the desk and turned to his computer. He opened a word processor and looked for the font Hoseok wanted. It took him a few minutes to find it, but once he did, he wrote the quote in it. He nodded as a habit of being proud of finishing his work even if work was just writing a sentence in a word processor. “Alright,” Kihyun turned to Hoseok, who, Kihyun saw, was a little too close to him, having intently been watching him work in his computer. Kihyun instinctively rolled his chair away from Hoseok. “Um,” he lost his wording and looked around, as if he thought it was going to find them scribbled on the wall somewhere. He shook his head. He needed to snap out of it, needed to control himself, needed to figure out how Hoseok could derail him and take away his thoughts so quickly by just being there. He cleared his throat and looked at Hoseok again. “Right,” he nodded, remembering what he was going to say. Hoseok raised an eyebrow. “Um,” and he lost his words again. He sighed and motioned to Hoseok’s upper thigh. He might as well speak the words as they came to him. “Your thigh, we need to figure out what’s the best font size and letter spacing for the tattoo. What’s the one you want,” Kihyun finished, looking at Hoseok in the eyes, almost shyly. He wanted to hit himself. 

 

Hoseok nodded, “okay.” 

 

“So how long do you want it to be?” Kihyun asked.

 

“Um,” Hoseok looked at his thigh. He placed his fingers on his thigh, separated, “this long I think would be good.” He looked up at Kihyun. He looked unsure. 

 

Kihyun examined the length and nodded, “yeah, I think that’s good.” He turned back to his computer and started playing with the font size and spacing until he got a few different lengths that looked similar to what Hoseok wanted. He clicked the print icon to print out what he had done. He stood up and looked at Hoseok, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

 

Hoseok smiled at him, nodding, “okay.”

 

The only printer the shop had was in Hyunwoo’s room, which was the first room of the hallway, so that was where Kihyun headed. The paper printed quickly, and once it did, Kihyun cut the different designs with the paper slicer next to the printer. Once he was done, he turned to leave and saw Minhyuk leaning against the door frame. 

 

Kihyun frowned. It came naturally with Minhyuk nowadays. Kihyun did not know how it became like this, but there came a time that being alone around Minhyuk only caused trouble. Even Hyunwoo was close to banning them being next to each other. 

 

“What is it, Minhyuk?” Kihyun sighed.

 

Minhyuk visibly gulped. He was trying to keep a serious face, but his lips were shaking. He clenched and relaxed his hands. “Um,” he said. “I came here looking for ink.”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes. Minhyuk was better than this at excuses. Still, he played along. “It's not here. In the back room,” Kihyun made a motion towards the direction of the back of the hallway. He then walked towards the door, towards Minhyuk who was blocking. “Now, if you'll excuse me,” Kihyun tried to walk past Minhyuk. 

 

“Wait,” Minhyuk grabbed his wrist but did not look at Kihyun when he looked at him. 

 

Kihyun knew Minhyuk well enough. He did it without thinking. He had nothing to say at the moment. “What?” He still asked. Just as he thought, Minhyuk did not answer, so Kihyun pulled his wrist away. “Look, Minhyuk, we both have customers right now, so if you have something to tell me, come to me later today when we're both free.” With that, he left, not waiting for Minhyuk's response.

 

Kihyun went back to his private room. He sat again on the chair in front of Hoseok and showed him the different designs. Kihyun measured them on Hoseok’s thigh, and with every design, Hoseok seemed more excited, showing a battalion of different positive emotions. They even made Kihyun smiled. 

 

Hoseok chose one of the designs, and Kihyun answered every question Hoseok had about the tattoo, and in turn, Hoseok answered every question Kihyun had about how he wanted the tattoo. Once they felt all the questions were answered, they scheduled the actual tattoo day. Hoseok was almost jumping on the chair with how excited he was. 

 

The consultation ended with Hoseok grabbing his hand softly, thanking Kihyun as if this was not his job but was doing it as a favor. He slowly ran his thumb on the top of Kihyun’s hand and Kihyun wondered if thanking him was an excuse Hoseok used to grab his hand. Kihyun would believe it, and it surprised him how he was not uncomfortable or mad about it. 

 

Hoseok paid for the consultation and left. Kihyun found himself actually looking forward to their tattoo session. 

 

The day passed normally after that. When the day ended, Kihyun noticed that Minhyuk did not bother seeking him out. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The date of Hoseok’s tattoo session came quickly. Hoseok was fine with whatever time and date so Kihyun took the pleasure in scheduling a soon as he could, which was really two weeks and a half after the session. To Hoseok, it had not been soon enough, and it showed with how early he arrived to the tattoo parlour. Kihyun was surprised seeing him, was surprised to recognize him, waiting already in the waiting area two hours before their appointment. Kihyun greeted him out of polite habit. He would have loved to attend Hoseok now, had he not had an appointment before him. 

 

Throughout his previous appointment, Kihyun found himself throwing glances at Hoseok, wondering if Hoseok had been looking at him. He had not been, and Kihyun had to swallow down his mild disappointment. He was already used to Hoseok looking at him, to paying him close attention, that Kihyun had him etched in his mind, and it now felt rather strange to have Hoseok paying attention to his phone instead. 

 

Kihyun sighed and shook his head. He needed to get himself together. He could not let Hoseok involuntarily distract him from his work. It would cause him to mess up, and a customer with a messed up half sleeve tattoo was not good publicity for him and the shop. He turned his attention back to the customer and did not look at Hoseok again for the rest of the session, no matter how much he wanted to. 

 

Kihyun was quick to order Changkyun to clean up after him once his session was done. Moments like this made him glad he was no longer an apprentice. Kihyun quickly went over to the waiting area and greeted Hoseok again. 

 

Hoseok stood up when he saw Kihyun approaching. Kihyun motioned at him to follow him, and Hoseok grinned brightly, showing teeth. The sunlight was bright behind him and Kihyun absently thought that Hoseok looked like an angel. 

 

Kihyun brought Hoseok to his private room. Kihyun considered the tattoo being too high on Hoseok’s thigh to really tattoo on the common area, so he thought that it was better to tattoo it here. He instructed Hoseok to take his pants off while Kihyun quickly prepared his work area. After preparing all that he needed for tattooing, he grabbed a chair and sat it in front of the sink that the room had. Every one of the private tattooing rooms had one. He motioned for Hoseok to sit there. Kihyun thoroughly washed his hands with the antibacterial soap and looked at Hoseok. 

 

Hoseok was wearing a pair of black fitted boxers. Kihyun tried to ignore how well they fitted his legs and accentuated his assets. Kihyun cleared his throat. He normally did not react like this to tattooing in these areas. It was not the first time he had done this, and he has tattooed in more risqué areas, too. He had no clue why he was reacting this way with Hoseok, a man he had only met thrice. “I’m just gonna have to prepare the area to get started,” he muttered, telling himself more than he was telling Hoseok. This was his job. He wondered if he was blushing. He hoped not. It was unprofessional. Hoseok nodded at what Kihyun told him.

 

Kihyun grabbed a pump amount of an antibacterial cleanser and rubbed it in his fingers. He looked at Hoseok’s thigh. He saw Hoseok grab the sides of the boxer and moving them up, revealing more skin. Kihyun almost told him to stop, because it was not really necessary. Almost. “This is where you said you wanted it, right?” Kihyun’s index finger moved in a straight line over the area he remembered Hoseok saying he wanted the tattoo, his finger hovering above, not quite touching yet. Though he wanted to. Hoseok’s thigh looked muscular. Kihyun internally slapped himself. 

 

“Yes, right there,” Hoseok nodded, poking the area with his finger. 

 

Kihyun nodded, “okay.” He showed Hoseok his fingers, “this is an antibacterial cleanser. It’s to get the area clean and such.” Hoseok nodded, eagerly. He obviously wanted to get this tattoo done. He smiled, and his smile caused Kihyun’s insides to twist up. It was not an uncomfortable feeling, but it was a bit confusing. 

 

Kihyun looked down, primarily to not look at Hoseok’s face and stop the strange twisting and secondarily to start actually cleaning the area. He took a deep breath and wondered what exactly he was bracing himself for. Kihyun thought that he was acting ridiculous for not just getting the cleaning started. It was such a mundane, thoughtless thing to do. It was part of his everyday job. He had done it four times today already. It should not be different with Hoseok. He shook his head and finally brought his hand down on Hoseok’s thigh, and yes, it was muscular, very nicely so. 

 

Kihyun rationalized that it was natural to think that, even if Hoseok was not his first muscular client.

 

After being done with the antibacterial cleanser, Kihyun took a sterile pad and explain to Hoseok that it was to sterilize the area. It was a bit cold, and Hoseok hissed at it, his face contouring strangely, but Kihyun found it cute. He found himself smiling. After sterilizing the area, Kihyun grabbed a disposable razor and quickly washed it on the sink. This time, he did not bother explaining why he was going to use the razor. He assumed Hoseok should know already, and because Hoseok did not question him, Kihyun felt that he assumed correctly.  

 

After Kihyun finished shaving the area, he threw the razor away and went to grab the tattoo stencil and a pen. He washed his hands again and put his gloves on. He sat in front of Hoseok again and applied the sterile lotion before placing the stencil on Hoseok’s thigh. 

 

Hoseok let out a noise of anticipation. He moved his upper body from side to side with excitement. If his shoes were off, Kihyun had a feeling he would be seeing Hoseok wiggling his toes. He huffed out a laugh. Kihyun had a different impression of Hoseok than the one Hoseok was giving now. Long gazes and soft-spoken words made Hoseok a person that could affect Kihyun from the inside out. Watching him here, wiggling in his chair but still trying to at least keep his lower half still, told Kihyun that there was more to Hoseok than meets the eye, and he was interested. 

 

Kihyun took the stencil out. He looked at the design on Hoseok’s thigh and frowned. He saw Hoseok lean a little forward. “It’s looking good,” he said.

 

Kihyun shook his head, “wait, no, it can look so much better.” He grabbed the marker. “Just wait a minute,” he muttered. 

 

Kihyun remembered the advice Jooheon gave him many months ago when Kihyun was still an apprentice. That stencil, a simple computerized calligraphy stencil, was just a preview the actual work Kihyun could do. It was a guide that Kihyun could go over using a marker. Connect every spot left behind why computerized script and add one’s own style to it. This could be considered the hardest part of the job, but it was also the most fun. 

 

It took longer than a minute to finish the new design. Kihyun wiped away most of the old stencil and traced a new one, one much more natural and his style, one Kihyun would be proud to tattoo on someone. 

 

Hoseok gasped loudly when Kihyun said that he was done. He looked at Kihyun was his mouth wide open and an expression of utter shock. “I love it,” he simply said. “It’s so good. It’s amazing. Woah…” he shook his head in disbelief and slowly leaned back against the client chair. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, “I’m glad. You like the final design then?” Hoseok looked at him and nodded vigorously. Kihyun grabbed the tattoo machine, “let’s get started then.” He opened the containers of ink and then took the needle he needed out of its sealed back. He set the needle up on the tattoo machine and wet it on the ink. “Let’s go,” he said then.

 

“It’s in the upper thigh. Will it hurt there?” Hoseok suddenly asked. 

 

“Depends, it’ll hurt nonetheless,” Kihyun said, turning on the machine.  _ If it’s fat, it won’t as much, _ he mentally said and looked at Hoseok’s thigh.  _ If it’s muscle, it will. _

 

Hoseok nodded, “you’re right. You’re a tattoo artist after all.” 

 

Kihyun nodded, “I’m starting now.” Hoseok grinned, clearly excited. Kihyun smiled back and finally put the needle against Hoseok’s thigh. 

 

Hoseok hissed, “holy shit, it does hurt a lot.” Kihyun smiled, finding it amusing. Muscle. He hummed and nodded. “Not as much as the foot tattoo but still, holy shit - ah,” he hissed again before taking a deep breath, trying to stay still. Kihyun appreciated that. 

 

“A foot tattoo as your first tattoo is quite a daring thing to do,” Kihyun stopped tattooing and glanced a Hoseok for a second before continuing to tattoo, “even I’m a little scared of it.” 

 

“A tattoo artist scared a tattoo? That’s interesting,” Hoseok said. Kihyun was looking down, concentrating on his work, but he imagined Hoseok raising an eyebrow.

 

Kihyun shook his head, “it’s not like that.” 

 

“I know,” Hoseok let out a laugh, “but that sentence sounded cool, right?”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes. He smiled but did not grace Hoseok with an answer.  _ In the right context, maybe, _ he thought. 

 

Hoseok chuckled, and he already sounded more relaxed. He tensed up a little here and there, but there was no vocal whine of his pain. “Talking helps distract me from pain so I hope you don’t mind me blabbering on,” he said.

 

Kihyun looked at him and smiled, “not at all.” Hopefully. Listening to customers babbler on was part of the job, so Kihyun was used to it and was getting good at tuning it all out, too. There was something about Hoseok that made Kihyun want to listen to him though. 

 

“Ah, good,” and then Hoseok stayed quiet. Kihyun appreciated the quietness. It was better for him to focus on his work. He was a letter and a half in already and everything was looking well. This was how he liked to do his work: nice, slow, and steady. Still, he had hoped Hoseok would start talking right away. “Well, I would ask you when did you start tattooing but I know the answer to that question already,” Hoseok said a minute later, “very recently, so I am going to ask this one instead. When did you know you wanted to tattoo?”

 

Kihyun hummed, thinking of the answer. He took a few seconds to answer, focusing on the tattoo and making sure the lines were straight. “It had to be less than three years ago,” Kihyun answered. 

 

“Really?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun nodded. “Wow, I don’t know why I saw you as the guy who would say that he had dreamed of doing this his entire life. Three years is not a long time.”

 

Kihyun shrugged, “I actually did a degree in art. After I was done with it, I was weighing my options at what I could do with this degree and an old friend just said, you like tattoo and art. Be a tattoo artist, and I thought why not.” He eyed Hoseok, “it’s not like it was a half-assed decision. It was more of a click, like I thought it made sense. So then I asked for apprenticeships in various studios and sent my portfolio in and was completely grateful to land one here.” 

 

“Wow, I would’ve been more than grateful. You landed in the best shop in town, maybe the best in the nation. I have been following the people here for years before I decided to actually come in and get my first tattoo,” Hoseok said. 

 

Kihyun hummed and nodded. Hoseok wanted a tattoo from one of the tattoo artists here, and he instead had gotten tattooed by the apprentice. Kihyun almost felt bad. 

 

“Best decision ever,” Hoseok continued. “After all, I got tattooed by you.” 

 

Kihyun hoped he was not blushing, but he did feel himself warming up. “Why? I was just an apprentice back then.” 

 

“Yeah, but you were an apprentice in The X Parlour,” Hoseok said, adding a little flair to the name of the shop. “You have to be amazing, too, to get an apprenticeship here. I don’t regret it. There’s a reason I came back, and I asked for you by name.” His voice got lower and Kihyun’s heart palpitated irregularly for a few beats. He did not know how to answer. Hoseok did not wait for one. “Are all these in the walls your work?” Hoseok changed the subject. 

 

Kihyun hummed, nodding.

 

“Ah,” Kihyun glanced up and saw Hoseok looking around, nodding. “Yes, I recognize some of these from your Instagram.”

 

“Oh, you follow the Instagram?” Kihyun asked, and he felt dumb for asking it. Hoseok following his tattoo Instagram seemed like a given at this point. 

 

“Of course,” Hoseok said, and Kihyun felt him nod. “I follow Minhyuk, and when I saw him promoting yours, I got so ecstatic that I followed you instantly.” Hoseok chuckled, “I might be your biggest fan, Kihyun.” 

 

Kihyun was blushing. He knew it and he was glad he was looking down so that Hoseok could not see him. He wondered how Hoseok was looking at him, because he had to be. “Thanks,” he muttered, because it felt like it was what he needed to say. 

 

Hoseok's words bounced in Kihyun's head pleasantly. Kihyun liked them more than he would like to admit. 

 

Until they morphed and changed and it was not Hoseok saying them anymore, it was Minhyuk. 

 

Minhyuk, way back at the beginning, before Kihyun and he had started dating, when they were balancing on the line between being friends, mentor and mentee, and being something else entirely, in Minhyuk's private room, late, late at night, hours after the shop had closed. Minhyuk had sat Kihyun in front of him and told him that he was going to tattoo Minhyuk. A big tattoo. A spiral mandala tattoo with a lot of details. Kihyun had been terrified, so scared of messing up and committing a mistake that could cost his apprenticeship and most important, jeopardize whatever relationship he had with Minhyuk. It was not until Minhyuk had gently grabbed Kihyun's cheeks, making him look straight at Minhyuk, gently caressing Kihyun's cheek with his thumb, that he said that words that comforted Kihyun enough to go through with the tattoo. 

 

_ “Don't worry, Kihyun. I'm your biggest fan. I believe in you.” _

 

That night, it was the night something had changed in their relationship. 

 

Kihyun frowned, shaking the thoughts and bittersweet memories away. He needed to stop thinking and focus on what was important: his job, finishing the tattoo. 

 

The tattoo took some time, and by the time Kihyun was done, he had a strain in his back that impeded him from sitting straight instantly. “Finished,” Kihyun said as he set the tattoo machine on the tray next to him and stretched his back, groaning. 

 

Hoseok looked down and gasped, “wow, it’s amazing. I love it.” He nodded, looking pleased. He looked at Kihyun. Kihyun could tell in his eyes that he was grateful, “thank you.”  

 

Kihyun smiled. It was a simple script tattoo. Those were not too hard to do. Kihyun guessed, after doing this for some time, some simple tattoos lost their charm to him. He still did a pretty good job though. He mentally patted himself on the back. He stood up and stretched again. He walked to one of the cabinets near the sink and opened it, taking out the case he kept his camera in. “I tend to take photos of all the tattoos I do,” Kihyun took out the camera and turned towards Hoseok. “Do you mind?” 

 

Hoseok shook his head, smiling. Kihyun turned on the camera while he pointed it a Hoseok without really meaning to. The screen showed Hoseok, smiling with the sides of his lips curling up. Kihyun was tempted to snap a picture, but he knew that it was not right, unfortunately. “Please, stand up, quickly,” Kihyun told Hoseok, and Hoseok did it. Kihyun quickly took a picture and smiled, thanking Hoseok. Hoseok shook his head, saying that it was not a big deal, and sat back down. Kihyun shut the camera off and stored it away before grabbing everything he needed for the aftercare of the tattoo. 

 

As he prepped the tattoo, Kihun told Hoseok everything he needed to do in the following weeks to make sure the tattoo was well taken care of and without risk of infection. Hoseok probably already knew as he already had a tattoo, but Kihyun was required (or was highly suggested to, as Hyunwoo put it) to tell the procedure to every client every time. Hoseok nodded enthusiastically at every step Kihyun told him. 

 

“There we go. You’re set and ready,” Kihyun smiled, admiring his work (and Hoseok’s legs, but mostly his work, Kihyun told himself). “Just head to the front and talk to Changkyun about payment. He should still be sitting at the front desk.” 

 

Hoseok nodded, putting on his pants. Once he was done, he looked around one last time. “What’s your favorite style of tattoo to do, Kihyun?” Hoseok asked. 

 

Kihyun quickly glanced at the tattoo he had on his left arm below his elbow joint. The fox. His style has not changed in years. It was still his favorite tattoo. “Blackwork,” Kihyun said. He found blackwork tattoos beautiful and intriguing. Making different various designs and art using only one ink color, making the lines neat, clean, and crisp. It called his name. Since the beginning, it did. It always did. 

 

Hoseok nodded, “I’ll take note then.” He turned to leave, but Kihyun was curious about his answer.

 

“Why?” He asked, walking closer to where Hoseok was, but still keeping a distance.

 

Hoseok turned around smiling, “because I want you to tattoo me.” 

 

Kihyun wondered if Hoseok was trying something with him, trying to sound cheesy or flirtatious or something. If he was, it was not strong enough to stop Kihyun’s true nature that made him scoff and roll his eyes. “I can do more than just blackwork. I just think I’m stronger in that field. However, if there is something that I feel I can’t do just yet, I can just refer to another of the tattoo artists here. We are all different and good at different things.”

 

He smiled and then shook his head a few seconds later. “No, Kihyun,” he stepped closer to Kihyun until he was in Kihyun’s personal space. Kihyun stopped breathing due to the sudden closeness. Strange how he did not feel the need to push away (strange how a tiny nook in his mind wanted him to pull Hoseok closer). “I don't want anybody but you tattooing me,” Hoseok told him. 

 

Kihyun smiled out of habit and looked down, blushing. Suddenly, similar words flew through his mind, disappearing as quickly as they appeared. 

 

“ _ I want nobody but me tattooing you, Kihyun. _ ”

 

The moment was ruined. Kihyun breathed. He frowned and told Hoseok to follow him out of the room and to the front desk. With the help of Changkyun, Hoseok paid for his tattoo. 

 

Before leaving, Hoseok grabbed Kihyun’s hand, “thank you for the tattoo, really. Ah, I can’t wait for it to heal already. I promise to come back after this tattoo heals.”

 

Kihyun chuckled. Hoseok’s hand felt warm in his. “Come again soon,” he said. 

 

Hoseok smiled and squeezed his hand before dropping it. He said his final goodbyes and left the shop. 

 

Changkyun was sucking on a lollipop. He pulled it out of his mouth with a loud  _ pop _ . “He’s hot,” he commented. 

 

Kihyun did not spare him with an answer. He was still looking at the entrance, a smile on his face and the ghost of Hoseok’s hand grasping his own. 

 

_ I know.  _

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter soon that what y'all have thought lol don't get used to it  
> I only uploaded this one because the last chapter was so short.  
> Proof reading this is hell so I am not sure when the next chapter will be up but I will see. I am aiming for weekly updates at least but I have learned to not promise anything. 
> 
> Again PSA:  
> \- I don't know much about tattooing so I hope things are as accurate as they could get.  
> \- I've heard people say that tattooing in muscles hurts more than tattooing in fat. Others beg to differ, but you know what, for Hoseok, muscles hurt more.   
> \- Excuse the errors. I am a one person team and English is a hard language lol I try my best and I hope it shows but idk
> 
> A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE:  
> I’m not quite sure why I remember you, why you won’t leave my mind, Kihyun wanted to say but did not.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and leaving a kudos if you did! I answer all comments eventually so I hope to chat with you soon!


	3. 3:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The relationship progresses.

  
  
  
  
  
  


A few months later, Kihyun received a nameless email to his work email. The username that belonged to the email was Wonho. Kihyun assumed that that was his name and he had simply forgot to put it in. The email conversations went at they normally went for Kihyun. The customer discussed what they wanted tattooed and Kihyun showed them examples about how the tattoo could turn out. When the conversation was reaching its end, Kihyun asked if Wonho wanted to do an in-person consultation to make sure the tattoo was what he wanted. Wonho’s response had left Kihyun shaken.

 

_ ‘...no, thank you. I trust on the abilities of my tattoo artist after all. As I re-read our conversation, I realized that I never introduced myself. I’m sorry for that. You know, I know that I am not supposed to tease my tattoo artist, but I can’t help myself. Your biggest fan can’t wait to get tattooed by you again. I would insert a heart emoji but that might not be the most appropriate...’ _

 

“Biggest fan…” Kihyun muttered. Since those words, the letters on his computer screen had come to life. They were no longer read by his own monotone voice, but instead by a lively customer whose curled up smile and soft eyes would not leave his thoughts. 

 

Kihyun hated how quickly he thought of Hoseok, how it reminded him that Hoseok never really left his mind. 

 

Kihyun was unsure of how to answer that part of the email, so he did not address it. He instead gave Wonho - Hoseok? His biggest fan? - the next available time slots for tattooing and received an answer some time later. Kihyun noted that appointment on his schedule and headed to the front desk of the parlor. 

 

Kihyun placed his phone with the calendar date on it in front of Changkyun. “Put this in the calendar,” Kihyun pointed at his phone before putting his hands in his pockets. 

 

Changkyun had been eating kettle corn. He put a handful amount on his mouth before cleaning his hands on his jeans. He brought the phone closer and stared at the date for a few seconds. “Wonho, Hoseok, biggest fan…” he read and then looked at Kihyun with a raised eyebrow. “Are you tattooing three people at the same time? Wow, amazing. I want to be there when you do that.”

 

Changkyun was mocking him. Kihyun clicked his tongue and looked away, feigning annoyance. He looked back at Changkyun and said, in his most authoritative voice possible, “don’t eat in this area.” 

 

Changkyun grinned at him, resting his elbow on the desk and his head on his hand, “Hyunwoo lets me.”

 

“Yes,” Kihyun nodded, “but Hyunwoo has a soft spot for you. I, on the other hand, don’t.” He smirked.

 

“Yeah, you do,” Changkyun simply said before pulling up the calendar in the computer and putting down Kihyun’s new appointment. 

 

“Yeah, I do,” Kihyun ruffled Changkyun’s hair. “Follow me after you’re done. You’re observing me for the next few hours, and bring me back my phone. Tell Jooheon that I told you to tell him to man the front desk, okay?” Kihyun might be the newest artist in the parlor but he was still older than Jooheon so he still had that authority over him. Changkyun hummed and Kihyun went back to his private room. He tried hard to make himself not anticipate meeting Hoseok again.

 

It failed. 

 

There was something about Hoseok. He was an enjoyable customer when Kihyun was tattooing. That had to be it.  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun tattooed Hoseok’s forearm next. It was large, long tattoo that started before his wrist and ended with his elbow. It was in a shape similar to a quatrefoil. It was line work. The inside of the shape filled with different patterns that all complemented each other nicely. Not only that, but the design Kihyun had drawn up had a nice little three dimensional effect that would leave any spectator staring endlessly. Kihyun was quite proud of it. It helped Kihyun relieve a lot of stress to draw up tattoos like that, and Lord knew he had a lot of stress. He almost did not ask Hoseok for a deposit on the tattoo design as he always did.

 

Hoseok was enamored with the tattoo. Behind his Wonho username, he expressed his absolute enchantment for the tattoo. His excitement for it reminded Kihyun that he was indeed Hoseok, because as he read it, he could only think of his last tattooing session with Hoseok, causing him to read the messages in Hoseok’s voice. 

 

When Hoseok showed up for the session set for Wonho, Kihyun could not say that he was surprised (but he could say that he was pleased and relieved).

 

“Did you guess correctly?” Hoseok had asked after he made his way to the front desk, extending his arms downwards to his side as if to present himself. 

 

Kihyun did not answer, was not planning to answer. He simply smiled, satisfied. He was going to nod, but Changkyun interrupted him. 

 

“Oh, yes, he did,” Changkyun nodded and chuckled. “Quite happy about it, too,” he said, turning back to the computer.

 

Kihyun glared at him and wondered how Changkyun also recognized him after only seeing him once. He decided that it was not worth figuring out now or ever, so he turned back to Hoseok, who was looking at him with a satisfied smile, one he chose to ignore, “follow me.”

 

Today was only going to be the line work. A different session the shadowing and bolder lines was to be set up later. Kihyun estimated that it would not take long to do the line work and that since it was in the forearm, it was in a decent place to tattoo in the public. Kihyun sat Hoseok down in the chair at the left back corner of the common tattoo area. It was a nice corner because everything that happened in the main part of the shop was visible from there. 

 

And also because Minhyuk was tattooing at the front right part of the area.

 

Kihyun did all the procedures to prepare the area he was going to tattoo and and then sat by Hoseok’s left forearm to start tattooing. 

 

“Another great tattoo by the great Yoo Kihyun,” Hoseok commented. Kihyun glanced at him and smiled. Hoseok hissed once the needle hit his skin. “Quite happy about it, too,” Hoseok repeated Changkyun’s words, “hmm…” He sounded like he had caught Kihyun doing something wrong. 

 

Kihyun was not looking at him, too focused on the work he was doing, but he imagined that Hoseok was raising an eyebrow right now. He would not let him affect him. “I got it right. Of course, I’ll be happy,” he said as an excuse. Hoseok hummed again, and Kihyun was not sure if it was a hum of understanding or a hum of not believing what was said but still going along with it. Kihyun did not want to dwell on that for long. “So, Wonho then?” 

 

“Yeah,” Hoseok chuckled. “Old, young, teenage me with an identity crisis created that email and wanted to change his name to Wonho. I grew out of that phase but I still have that email. I have another one but I used that email by accident. Didn’t realize it was that email.” He laughed, “realized it halfway but I never mentioned my real name. Nice that you were still able to figure it out. I’m surprised that you remember me.”

 

_ I’m not quite sure why I remember you, why you won’t leave my mind, _ Kihyun wanted to say but did not.

 

They did not converse much, but Kihyun felt Hoseok’s gaze on him. Kihyun assumed that Hoseok was simply watching him work. Kihyun was fine with the silence. Everyone in the shop was working, so everyone was too concentrated on their work to start up a conversation. It made tattooing much more simpler. 

 

About an hour in, the entrance to the shop opened, signaled by the ring of a bell. Normally, Kihyun ignored it since people entered and left the shop all the time. It was probably just another client that had arrived for one of them.

 

“Ayo, ayo, it’s DJ H.One! Drop the beat, man!” Jooheon yelled in English. 

 

Or not. 

 

“What the-” Kihyun heard Hoseok mutter. Kihyun chuckled, stopping the tattooing, and raising his head towards the door. 

 

At the door was none other than Hyungwon. He laughed at Jooheon’s comment and pretended to DJ. Everyone chuckled. Hyungwon passed the dividing door that separated the waiting area from the tattooing area with no problem and greeted Changkyun with special handshake they had formulated together a few weeks ago. He did a general greeting for everyone else and then headed to Minhyuk’s station. Jooheon asked Hyungwon how he was and a whole conversation happened. 

 

“Who is he?” Hoseok asked.

 

“Chae Hyungwon,” Kihyun answered, “he DJs at a famous club in Hongdae we all go to every once in a while. He’s a regular here so we all know him. Minhyuk is his main tattoo artist.” Kihyun glanced over at Minhyuk’s area just as Minhyuk welcomed Hyungwon with a smile on his face and a tight hug. 

 

Kihyun frowned. He felt nothing in his head except the numbness that told him that he should feel something. Minhyuk turned to look at him once he told Hyungwon to seat down. Kihyun hated that, hated how the could still feel the other watching even if it was just for a brief moment. Kihyun knew that Minhyuk had been looking at him for the past hour. He just refused to acknowledge it, because Minhyuk should not be looking at him, should not be waiting for him to look back, should not be hoping that he would be jealous, should not be hoping that they will return to their old ways where they would connect eyes and throw flirtatious, playful smiles at each other. 

 

Kihyun’s frowned deepend, visibly, knowing Minhyuk will see him, and turned back to work on Hoseok’s tattoo. 

 

Hoseok hummed, “you all know regulars?” Kihyun hummed in affirmation. “Interesting…” he muttered. 

 

Kihyun eyed him, wondering what exactly Hoseok was thinking as he looked towards Minhyuk and Hyungwon. Kihyun wanted to say that of course, they knew the regulars. If you went to a place often, people there were bound to recognize you eventually. 

 

“He’s been coming here for a few years,” Kihyun talked, “one day, he invited all of us to his club and well, we’ve been close ever since.” He turned to look at Hyungwon. He was looking at Minhyuk with a smile while Minhyuk cheerfully talked nonsense while placing the tattoo template above of Hyungwon’s elbow joint. “He’s the closest to Minhyuk.” 

 

Kihyun remembered being jealous about that many months ago.

 

“Does he like Minhyuk?” Hoseok asked. 

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok with an amused smile, “you, too? Jooheon and Changkyun seem to think so.” 

 

“You can kind of see it by the way he looks at him,” Hoseok said. “Do you think Minhyuk could like him back?” 

 

Kihyun wanted to laugh. He wanted to throw his head back and let out a big, hearty laugh, scream “I wish” from the top of his lungs. He let out half a laugh instead and shook his head, “no.”

 

_ He’s still chasing after someone he knows he can’t have. _

 

“Ah…” Hoseok simply said, and that was the end of that conversation. Kihyun kept tattooing in peace. “You know,” Hoseok said after a while, “there’s something about watching you tattoo that is very relaxing, even if you’re literally stabbing me with needles nonstop and it hurts so fucking much.” He said that last part with a lot of pain in his voice.

 

Kihyun chuckled, “I do think tattooing is relaxing honestly.”  

 

“Hmm, maybe it’s that,” Hoseok said. “Keep going. I’m entertaining myself just watching you.” Kihyun glanced up at him with a smile. He had no problem with Hoseok watching him. He was watched by his customers and Changkyun all the time. This was not any different, so Kihyun did not know why it made his heart speed up. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It took a few more hours to be done with the tattoo. Hoseok left after paying and telling Kihyun that he could not wait for the next appointment. As he left for the door, Changkyun, who was sitting next to Minhyuk and Hyungwon watching Minhyuk tattoo, yelled out, “bye, Wonho!” and Hoseok let out a big laugh before waving goodbye and leaving. Kihyun noted that he had a nice laugh. 

 

“Wonho, huh?” Hyungwon said after Hoseok left. “New guy?” 

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah, I think this was his third time here.” 

 

“If I were to be honest,” Jooheon jumped into the conversation. He was in the booth next to Minhyuk’s, drawing up new tattoo ideas and maybe, Kihyun assumed, templates for upcoming clients. “I’m glad he finally left. I don’t think I could have watched him give you lovey-dovey eyes for another long hour.”

 

“Hey,” Changkyun laughed, “I was just going to say that.” 

 

“Me, too!” Hyungwon chuckled and fist-bumped Changkyun. 

 

Kihyun’s eyes fleeted to Minhyuk momenterily. He had a look of concentration as he tattooed Hyungwon’s arm, his lips thin and his eyebrows furrowed. He tried hard to look like he was not paying attention to the conversation, but Kihyun knew him better than that. He was paying far too much attention.

 

Jooheon laughed with Hyungwon and Changkyun and then turned to Kihyun, “no, but for real, better tattoo him in your room next time because,” he shook his head and let out a scoff, “that was intense.”

 

“It took every cell in my body to not throw out some random comments your way, Kihyun,” Hyungwon said, “or to actually throw something.” 

 

“You’re lucky I had to pay attention to Minhyuk instead. I would have thrown out comments, too,” Changkyun said. 

 

Kihyun did not really know how to answer that. His eyes decided to fix themselves on Minhyuk and Kihyun did not know how to make them look some other way. It somehow felt wrong, talking about someone else supposedly giving him lovey-dovey eyes in front of Minhyuk, knowing how Minhyuk feels about him. Kihyun felt guilty. 

 

Kihyun shook his head slowly, eyes not leaving Minhyuk, “no… he wasn’t.”

 

“Well, you couldn’t see him do it. You were tattooing him,” Jooheon said. 

 

Minhyuk finally glanced at Kihyun for a second and that was enough for Kihyun to break away and look at Jooheon. Minhyuk was so quiet. It was still so strange. Kihyun wanted him to say something. “He was just watching me tattoo,” Kihyun said, “every customer does that.”

 

“Yeah, they watch their skin get tattooed on by the tattoo artist. Wonho was literally just watching you,” Changkyun said. “Trust me, I should know. I spent the day observing.” 

 

“Ooooh,” Hyungwon made a taunting noise, “yet another of Kihyun’s customers likes him.” 

 

“He doesn’t like me,” Kihyun looked at Minhyuk. He did not know why he was defensive, why he felt like he was doing this for Minhyuk’s sake.

 

“Yeah, sure, if that’s what you want to believe,” Jooheon shook his head. 

 

Kihyun opened his mouth to say that he believed it because it was the truth, but Hyunwoo, who had been sweeping the floor, interrupted him. “Okay, stop it, guys,” he said softly, but it was enough for everyone to stay quiet. 

 

Kihyun looked at Hyunwoo and Hyunwoo gave him a small smile. There was understanding in his eyes. Kihyun thanked him in his mind. 

 

“Aw, come on, Hyunwoo, you gotta admit - OUCH!” Hyungwon hissed and looked down at the arm Minhyuk was tattooing. 

 

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Minhyuk put the tattooing machine down and placed his hand gently just below Hyungwon’s shoulder, smiling. Kihyun could tell in his tone that he really was not sorry. He just wanted to get Hyungwon to shut up. “I pressed the needle harder than I intended to,” he grabbed a wipe and cleaned off the excess ink. 

 

“Argh, it won’t damage the tattoo, right?” Hyungwon asked.

 

Minhyuk shook his head, “all this part was supposed to be black anyways.”

 

Kihyun decided to let them be. “I’ll be in my room,” he said to no one in specific and left the common area. 

 

He could not stop thinking about Hoseok giving him lovey-dovey eyes. His heart and face warmed up. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I never thought of the idea of tattoo artists knowing regulars?” Hoseok suddenly said at his fourth appointment. 

 

Kihyun looked at him, “well, if you go to a place enough times, the workers there will start to recognize you, no?” 

 

Hoseok nodded, “that’s true…”

 

“Plus, a lot of people tend to go from tattoo artist to tattoo artist. Especially here since we're more expensive, so we don’t have too many regulars, and we don’t count people who come every three years as regulars either,” Kihyun explained, turning back to his work. He was still doing Hoseok’s forearm tattoo, making the lines thicker and adding more detail and dimension.

 

“Am I a regular?” Hoseok asked. 

 

“You’re recognized by everyone here,” Kihyun said. They all knew Hoseok as Wonho but they knew him, and when he came today, Jooheon and Changkyun threw “oooooh’s” Kihyun’s way. Kihyun ignored them as best as he could. “You might be.” 

 

“Nice!” Kihyun imagined Hoseok grinning in victory, “I’ve been saving money for years to get tattooed. You will surely see me for the next couple of more months.” 

 

Kihyun smiled, because he did not mind that at all. 

 

A period of silence passed. From the corner of his eye, Kihyun could see that Hoseok was on his phone. That only lasted a few minutes, less than thirty, and then Hoseok’s attention was on watching Kihyun again, or, as Kihyun believed, on watching his skin getting tattooed by Kihyun. 

 

“Hey, Kihyun,” Hoseok called for his attention. 

 

Kihyun put down the tattoo machine and looked at Hoseok. He assumed, that if Hoseok called for his attention first, it was something that needed his whole attention. “Yes?”

 

Hoseok was observing him. His eyebrows were slightly narrowed in concentration and Kihyun wondered if he had something strange on his face. He was about to ask before he realized what exactly Hoseok was staring at. At his left eyebrow, his right nostril, and the left side of his lower lip. At his piercings. Kihyun unconsciously licked his lips. “Who’s your body piercer here?” Hoseok asked, slowly, like he was in some sort of trance. 

 

Kihyun chuckled awkwardly and looked down. Was that why Hoseok was staring? He could not help but feel a little disappointed. He cleared his throat and relaxed his facial features for a second and then looked up at Hoseok and smirked, “you’re looking at him.” 

 

Hoseok’s widened. His expression made Kihyun want to chuckle. It was cute. “Really?” He asked and then shook his head in disbelief, “wow, no wonder they are so good. They fit you so well. Did you do them yourself?”

 

Kihyun shook his head and pointed at the two on his face, “not these ones.” Flashes of Minhyuk reassuring him right before piercing his skin flashed through his mind. 

 

Hoseok’s face fell, “ah…” He looked down, eyes fleeting. Kihyun wondered if he was embarrassed.

 

Kihyun decided to save him. “These are just the ones Minhyuk did when he was teaching me. I did others.” 

 

Wonho perked up, “which ones?” 

 

Kihyun needed a haircut. His hair was slightly covering his ears. With one hand, he lifted the hair that slightly covered his ears and showed the earrings that decorated his ears, “these ones and...” In his heart, he became a little embarrassed, though his face did not show it. He never really showed this piercing off since no one around him really asked to see it anymore. “This one,” he said before slowly revealing his tongue, showing off a gunmetal gray metal stud. A piercing he did himself, sure, but he still felt Minhyuk’s strong gaze on him when he was doing it. He has other piercings that he had done himself, but he took those piercings off a long time ago, so Kihyun doubted that they were relevant.

 

“O-oh,” Hoseok’s voice trembled when he focused his eyes on Kihyun’s tongue piercing. Kihyun still had a hand on Hoseok’s arm and he felt Hoseok’s skin shiver under. He visibly twitched. 

 

Kihyun wondered what effect did this piercing have on Hoseok.

 

“H-How did I not notice that before?” Hoseok was probably asking himself instead of Kihyun. He shifted around as if he was uncomfortable, crossing his legs.

 

Kihyun still answered, shrugging, “not many people do.” He grabbed the tattoo machine, deciding that it was time to get back to work. 

 

“I should have,” Hoseok muttered. Kihyun thought it better to not answer, to not think what that sentence could have implied. 

 

Hoseok said nothing for the rest of the session. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun had taken a photo of Hoseok’s tattoo once it was done like he always did. He could not help but feel especially proud of that tattoo though. He was still a newbie in the field of tattooing and having been able to complete a tattoo like Hoseok’s felt like a big accomplishment. It was a tattoo with a lot of incredible detail containing aspects of optical illusions and three dimensional effects. Kihyun wanted to shove it in people’s faces that he was able to complete such a tattoo so early in the race, so he wasted no time in making sure that photo was up in his social media page with a cheesy, sentimental quote under it because people seemed to love sentimentality. 

 

He left the post alone for a few minutes while he tidied up his private room. Not that it was messy, but he always became nervous when he uploaded a new tattoo on his tattoo account. There was always that small fear that people will not like it. Cleaning helped him calm down. 

 

Kihyun came back to the post around thirty minutes later and refreshed it. 

 

There were almost five hundred likes and almost a hundred comments.

 

Kihyun smiled. Most of the comments were positive. He had nothing to worry about once again. 

 

Kihyun already knew the pattern to his comments. A third of them would talk about how much they love it. A third would only comment in emojis, and the last third would want the tattoo on them. It was predictable but Kihyun still liked to skim through them quickly. It still filled his heart and ego to see them. 

 

A comment caught his eyes by an account with the name  _ Wontokki _ . 

 

_ ‘I get to look at this tattoo everyday now for the rest of my life. I know that it will never stop looking magnificent. What a beautiful thing it is to get tattooed by the most interesting person you have met recently.’ _

 

“Hoseok?” Kihyun muttered as he moved the mouse to the username and clicked to open it in a new tab. 

 

It was. His profile description was the quote Kihyun tattooed on him a few months back and the words “gym bunny” right on top of it, and his profile picture was the most recent picture he had uploaded. It was a photo of him taken from a downwards angle. Half of his face was covered by his newly tattooed arm as the photo was obviously for him to show off the tattoo. There was a bright light behind him that blinded the entire background and almost merged with his blonde hair. 

 

_ He looks angelic _ , Kihyun thought. 

 

Kihyun felt curiosity creeping through his body. He wanted to check out Hoseok’s profile. Kihyun quickly grabbed his phone and opened the app in his personal account. He typed in Hoseok’s username in the search bar and tapped on the desired profile. He quickly opened that recent photo. Hoseok’s piercing stare cut through Kihyun’s soul, making his heart rate increase. Kihyun did not understand. How could a simple customer have such an effect on him?

 

Kihyun shook his head, getting out of the picture and looking at Hoseok’s profile in general. Most of the recent photos were of Hoseok at the gym. Kihyun could easily understand where the “gym bunny” in the description came from. Kihyun’s eyes scanned Hoseok’s following count. It was in the tens of thousands. Hoseok was a bit popular. Kihyun could see why. Hoseok was already far too attractive for his own good and workout selfies made him look even better. 

 

Kihyun thought that, with such a following, Hoseok would not notice a new follower, because Kihyun really wanted to follow him. Hoseok would not check his new followers. He would not be curious when he saw Kihyun’s username, which was basically a variation of his name, because of it. He could be saved. Kihyun narrowed his eyes. Why did he care so much? Would it be too weird for a tattoo artist to follow his customer from his personal account?

 

Kihyun shook his head. He knew that he was overthinking. He took a deep breath and quickly followed Hoseok’s account before tapping at the recent photo again rapidly so he did not have a chance to change his mind.  He liked the photo, like a normal follower would, and gulped, wondering what could happen if Hoseok noticed that it was him. 

 

Kihyun looked at the clock on the phone. He had time before his next appointment, so he leaned back on his chair and moved to the next photo in Hoseok’s gallery. He would not like anymore of them. He did not want to seem like that kind of person. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Changkyun knocked on Kihyun’s open door some time later. Kihyun flinched, almost dropping his phone in the process. He looked at Changkyun, “what?” He sounded like he was caught red handed. He felt caught. He lost track of time looking at Hoseok’s entire gallery, and he was not even done. 

 

“Your next appointment,” Changkyun looked at his digital wrist watch, “it started fifteen minutes ago.” 

 

Kihyun looked at the wall clock. He was indeed late. “Oh shit,” he looked down, muttering. He turned back to Changkyun, “tell him I’ll be out there in a few minutes!” 

 

Changkyun raised a brow. “The hell were you doing?” He asked as he walked away, not giving Kihyun the chance to come up with an answer. 

 

Once Kihyun could not hear Changkyun’s steps anymore, he sighed and slumped down on his chair, running a hand through his hair. He looked at his phone. A picture of two bunnies greeted him. Apparently, Hoseok was taking care of them. They were so cute and Kihyun cooed at them for longer than he was willing to admit. Looking at them again instantly brought a smile back on Kihyun’s face. He tapped at the screen as if to pet them. He wanted to do that a few times before putting his phone down and heading back to work, but he forgot what the action could do with a picture. 

 

Kihyun’s heart dropped.

 

The animation showing a heart appeared on the screen and Kihyun knew that he had accidentally liked the picture. He gasped but sucked in a breath a the same time and it all sounded like a wheeze. He quickly unliked the picture and threw his phone on his desk. He knew the picture was weeks old, far too many weeks old, almost a year old, and Hoseok uploaded various photos a week so there were hundreds of photos before that one. Kihyun hoped unliking it would erase what he did but the damage was already done. 

 

Hoseok will think that he was creep now.

 

_ Great fucking job, Yoo Kihyun _ , Kihyun thought and shook his head. He stood up. Now was not the time to think about it. He had work to do. He did not want to know about social media for the rest of the day.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


At the end of the day, Kihyun looked at his phone and saw a few new messages from his social media account. A couple of likes from someone, a new follower, and a direct message. Kihyun narrowed his eyes looked at the notifications. He clicked on them and they brought him to his activity page. He gasped. 

 

_ Wontokki has liked the following… _

 

_ Wontokki has followed you! _

 

_ Wontokki has sent you a message! _

 

Kihyun gulped, opening the message. 

 

_ ‘I never thought the great Yoo Kihyun would be so interested in me. I feel honored’ _ and a heart emoji at the end.

 

Kihyun let out a relieved laugh. All his fears dissipating. He had nothing to worry about. He smiled while reading the message over and over again. Yes, maybe he was a little interested. Not that Hoseok needed to know that, so Kihyun did not answer that message. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Later that night, while Kihyun worked on his drawing under the moonlight and a light of a lamp, he received another message from Hoseok. A simple goodnight and nothing else. 

 

Kihyun smiled. Maybe he was a little more than a little interested. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“So, who are your most memorable customers?” Hoseok asked Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun eyed the back of his head while wiping off excess ink off his calf. “Why are you asking that?” Did Hoseok expect himself? Because he might be. 

 

Hoseok used his arms to lift himself up a little bit and turned his head slightly to look at Kihyun, “I think I can learn a lot about you by the people you remember.” 

 

Kihyun instantly wanted to ask why Hoseok wanted to know a lot about him, as if asking that was going to protect him from anything that he was feeling and push Hoseok away. Just because Kihyun was interested in Hoseok did not mean that he wanted to be. 

 

He was scared of what Hoseok might answer if Kihyun asked him. He still heard all the comments Changkyun, Jooheon, and Hyungwon threw at him that one time he tattooed Hoseok in the common area. 

 

There was no harm in the Hoseok who his memorable customers were. Kihyun had absolutely no clue what Hoseok could possibly find out about him this way, so there should not be a problem. This might actually be interesting for Kihyun, too. Hoseok might not be expecting this answer. 

 

“There's a girl that comes here,” Kihyun started. “It’s her and her husband actually. We call her Disney and him Walt. They are the biggest Disney fans I have ever met.”

 

“Are those nicknames?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun nodded. Hoseok nodded turning away from Kihyun. “Disney and Walt… Why not Mickey and Minnie if they are big Disney fans? Disney and Walt - Wait a second! Walt Disney!” He gasped in realization.

 

Kihyun chuckled, turning back to his work, “yeah… Anyways, you probably guessed this already, but they get a fuck ton of Disney tattoos together. It’s actually kinda cute, kinda.”

 

“Why are they memorable?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun noted that he sounded genuinely curious. 

 

“They’re pleasant company,” Kihyun said. “They are lighthearted people with lighthearted jokes, never seem to complain about anything. Never complain about pain.” Kihyun chuckled, thinking of Disney’s red face and pursed lips when Kihyun was tattooing a specially painful part. “They are just easy to get along with. We’re around the same age after all. Minhyuk and I are their main tattoo artists.” Kihyun frowned. “They haven’t come back in a while.” Disney was pregnant. They had no clue Kihyun and Minhyuk broke up. Kihyun cleared his throat, not wanting to delve into those thoughts. “Most of their tattoos are bright and colorful and completely different from what I am used to tattoo, which I am fine with. It’s a great way to challenge myself.”  

 

Hoseok hummed, “wow, I am learning so much from you right now.” 

 

Kihyun looked at him (the back of his head), narrowing his eyes and tilting his head, “like what?” 

Hoseok turned his head to look at him. He smirked and turned away again, “so, now who’s your least favorite customer?”

 

Kihyun opened his mouth to say something against it. That was basically gossiping. “I think I signed a confidentiality agreement for that.”

 

Hoseok nodded, “alright, I’ll confidential about it then.”

 

“That’s not how it…” Kihyun muttered before stopping. Well, if he really thought about it, everyone knew who his least favorite customer was. It was kind of obvious. Even Hyungwon knew. Hell, Kihyun was sure that customer knew. Again, Hoseok knowing would not cause any harm. “Okay, fine.” 

 

Hoseok let out a mischievous giggle and bobbed his head from side to side in a childlike manner. Kihyun imagined that he was also grinning. Hoseok was really treating this like gossip, but Kihyun was enjoying Hoseok’s actions too much to not keep it going.

 

“It’s this woman,” Kihyun stopped tattooing and made some hand motions, almost as if he was trying to describe her with his hands. “We call her the Bug Lady here.” 

 

“Bug Lady?” Hoseok repeated.  

 

“Yeah,” Kihyun nodded, “all of her tattoos are insect related. They are all cool individually, but together, they just add to her creepiness.” He shivered. 

 

“Why is she creepy?” Hoseok asked. 

 

“She likes me,” Kihyun stated.

 

“Huh?” Hoseok turned his head to look at Kihyun.

 

“But I’m pretty sure she’s a decade older than me, maybe even two, which is a reason of it’s weird,” Kihyun added. 

 

Hoseok sighed. “Phew,” he sounded relieved. Kihyun wondered if Hoseok thought that Kihyun thought that she was creepy only because she liked him and was relieved that it was not the only reason, but then why would he care if that was the only reason?

 

Kihyun did not want to think about it. He grabbed the tattoo machine again and continued tattooing. “She always makes comments while I’m tattooing her. Botherline sexual, weird, and overall indecent and I never know how to react to them, and I don’t know how she expects me to react to them either,” he sighed. 

 

“She… doesn’t sound pleasant,” Hoseok commented. 

 

Kihyun could tell he did not really know what to say. It made him smile. Hoseok tried. Kihyun shrugged, “eh, I’ve been able to develop my tuning out skills well because of her. It’s not as bad as it used to be. She did it even when-”  _ Minhyuk and I were still dating _ . “I was still just an apprentice,” Kihyun finished sadly, lacking the same emotion he had been building up throughout the tiny rant. He then laughed, “every time she shows up Jooheon, Hyunwoo, and Changkyun send me off like I’m going to battle.” 

 

Hoseok laughed with him. “Wait, but if she makes you so uncomfortable, why do you still keep tattooing her?” 

 

Kihyun sighed, “because she hasn’t done anything too vile yet…” He paused for a second, “and when I think she’s going to pull something vile, I just pretend I’m sick and cut the appointment short.” 

 

Hoseok laughed, “you do that?”

 

Kihyun hummed, nodding, “when I feel really uncomfortable with a situation or something like that, I tend to excuse myself by saying that I’m sick. She wanted to get her breasts pierced and I knew that she could pull some shit out with that, so I pretended to feel nauseous five minutes before the appointment, excused myself to her, passed her to Minhyuk, and got the fuck out of here. Minhyuk knew what I was doing and hated me for it, but whatever,” he shrugged, suddenly thinking if he had mentioned Minhyuk too much. What if Hoseok started questioning it?

 

Hoseok laughed. “See, I told you I could learn a lot about you with this,” he said instead. 

 

Kihyun paused for a second, thinking back on everything he had said. He guessed so, especially with that last part. “Huh,” he let out, as if to simply acknowledged that Hoseok was right, “I guess so.” He nodded and started tattooing again. 

 

“Walt and Disney and the Bug Lady…” Hoseok muttered. “Do you give nicknames to your regulars?” 

 

Kihyun nodded. “Yeah, it’s kind of our thing,” he said, referencing the entire tattoo shop.

 

“Wow, that’s cool,” Hoseok said. “Do I have one?” 

 

Kihyun smiled, looking at Hoseok for a split second, “Wonho.” 

 

“Just Wonho?” Hoseok asked. “Ah, that’s boring,” he sounded disappointed. Kihyun imagined his pouty face. He smiled. “Wait, how do they even know about Wonho?” Hoseok then asked. 

 

“The email you first used to contact me, its username. I just put you down as Wonho slash Hoseok, and Changkyun decided to just call you Wonho and it spread and now you’re stuck as Wonho here because no one will bother correcting themselves,” Kihyun explained.

 

“Oh, so I really am known here already, too?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun nodded, humming in affirmation. “Nice,” Hoseok said, and Kihyun thought that he must be smirking at the moment. “Ah, I wish I had something cooler though. I thought I outgrew Wonho,” Hoseok let out a forced laugh.

 

_ Changkyun also annoyingly refers to you as my man. Is that cool enough for you? _ Kihyun wanted to say but did not. He cleaned off the excess ink and smiled as his work, “alright, we are done.”  

 

Hoseok stood up and giggled childishly on the way to the full body mirror and gasped when he turned around and looked at his new tattoo. After giving Kihyun the praise Hoseok always did after finishing a tattoo, Kihyun rushed him back to the chair. He took a picture of Hoseok's tattoo and then did the aftercare of it.

 

“Are you gonna upload it to your page?” Hoseok asked, still sitting on the table, swinging his legs back and forth. 

 

Kihyun nodded, “unless you don't want me to.”

 

“I want you to,” Hoseok stood and walked next to Kihyun, who was standing next to his desk, preparing to put the camera away. “Your work is good,” Hoseok said, almost whispering into Kihyun's ear, once he was next to Kihyun. Kihyun froze. He felt his face warming up. Was Hoseok doing this on purpose? “It deserves to be shown.”

 

Kihyun was looking at the table. He was able to see Hoseok's hand from here, flat against the table holding up his weight. Hoseok was close to him and Kihyun was not sure if he was ready to look at him. 

 

The atmosphere change was sudden, first light-hearted and calm and now… Kihyun did not know, but he could not decide if he liked it or not. It was bothering him though, so he chose to get over himself and ask Hoseok what he was suddenly doing. 

 

He turned to face Hoseok, opening his mouth to ask that very question, but he froze again. Hoseok was close, not close enough that he felt him breathing or crossed his eyes to look at him, but close enough where the world around him blurred when he focused on Hoseok. Kihyun’s words died in his mouth, his throat running dry. Hoseok looked at him, at different parts of his face by the way his eyes were moving, before settling on his lips. 

 

Kihyun wondered if Hoseok was going to kiss him.

 

He then wondered if he would mind being kissed by Hoseok.

 

Kihyun decided that he did not. 

 

Maybe it was in his head. Maybe it was actually happening. Maybe Hoseok was really leaning in. Maybe Kihyun was almost closing his eyes in the spur of the moment.

 

It was not like he would ever find out. 

 

“Kihyun!” 

 

And the moment broke into millions of tiny pieces. 

 

Jooheon crashed into the door frame, “we finally did it! Our pizza delivery guy was Chang-” He paused for a second. “Do you guys need a moment?” 

 

It was as if Kihyun woke up. The world blurred and came to focus, and Kihyun realized just how close Hoseok was. The reality of what almost happened crashed a wave over him and his heartbeat was beating hard against his chest and his lungs contracted as if he was drowning. 

 

With panic overflowing him, Kihyun realized that he  _ was not ready _ .

 

“Pizza?” Kihyun asked breathlessly, looking down away from Hoseok, briefly remembering that Hyunwoo had come to his room some time ago asking him for pizza toppings. “Okay,” he nodded. He gently pushed Hoseok to the side as he rushed out the door past Jooheon, who silently asked him what had just happened, to the main part of the shop. 

 

In there, the atmosphere got lighter and Kihyun was welcomed with the scene of Minhyuk hugging an exasperated Changkyun tightly, yelling about how cute he looked in his pizza delivery uniform. Kihyun agreed, and he wanted to coo with Minhyuk but he felt like he would not be welcomed. Hyungwon was setting down the four boxes of pizza on a movable table, and Hyunwoo was taking out his wallet to pay Changkyun while grumbling about how horrible they all were for ordering more pizza than they ate just because Hyunwoo lost a bet and had to pay for it all. 

 

Kihyun walked past the whole scene to the front desk. When he passed by Hyungwon, he put a hand on the taller man’s shoulder and said, “Hyungwon! I didn’t know you’d be here today.”

 

Hyungwon smiled, “I was going to greet you but Jooheon told me who you were with, so I decided to keep my distance.” He raised his eyebrow suggestively and Kihyun rolled his eyes. His insides twisted uncomfortably. He still was not sure what to think about what just happened. 

 

Kihyun moved the computer mouse around to turn the computer on, which had fallen asleep because of disuse. He put his information in and set the computer up ready for Hoseok to pay. 

 

Jooheon appeared from the hallway and made a beeline to Hyungwon. He grabbed Hyungwon’s wrist and dragged him away from Kihyun. He whispered something into Hyungwon’s ear while looking straight at Kihyun. The subtlety was nonexistent, and Kihyun was sure that it was done on purpose. He watched the whole scene with a raised eyebrow. 

 

Hoseok came out after Jooheon while Hyunwoo was finishing the payment with Changkyun for the pizzas. Minhyuk was still clinging to him. Changkyun was ignoring him completely. Hoseok’s steps were slower than usual, and they were slightly awkward, as if Hoseok was not sure if he should head to Kihyun - or maybe Kihyun was overthinking it. 

 

When Hoseok was next to him, Kihyun told him the price for his session and they completed the transaction. 

 

Changkyun pushed Minhyuk off him, “okay, I have to go now.” 

 

Minhyuk whined, “why? You can’t stay to eat?”

 

“I’m working, Minhyuk,” Changkyun said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. 

 

Both Kihyun and Hoseok watched with amusement. Kihyun rolled his eyes.

 

“So?” Minhyuk scoffed. 

 

Changkyun paused, only blinking. “I’m…” he sounded stupefied, “I’m working, Minhyuk.” 

 

Hyunwoo grabbed a slice of pizza and then pushed Changkyun towards the front door by his shoulder, “go, kid.” He handed him the slice of pizza, “and here.” Changkyun grabbed the slice, thanking Hyunwoo. He moved to turn away when Hyunwoo stopped him again. Hyunwoo rubbed his hands together before wiping them on his jeans and then taking out his wallet from his back pocket. “Here,” he handed Changkyun a few bills.

 

Changkyun eyed the money with a raised eyebrow, “tip is already included.” 

 

“Come on!” Minhyuk said (yelled), wrapping an arm around Hyunwoo’s shoulder, “you’re the precious baby here. Just take it.” He looked at Hyunwoo with a smirk, “he probably won’t be so generous next time.”

 

Changkyun sighed, “alright.” He grabbed the money and started to count it as best as he could with one hand while taking a bite of the pizza with the other. His eyes widened the more he counted. “Hey, this is too much,” he looked at Hyunwoo.

 

Hyunwoo smiled and walked to Changkyun. He ruffled Changkyun’s hair, “you mentioned you needed the extra money once.” 

 

“Wow,” Changkyun gasped in complete disbelief. He hugged Hyunwoo tightly, “thank you, Hyunwoo.” 

 

“I never knew Hyunwoo could be so generous,” Hyungwon muttered, grabbing his own slice.

 

“Neither did I,” Minhyuk shook his head and crossed his arms. A smile rested on his face. 

 

“Wow,” Kihyun smiled, happy. “Hyunwoo, can you pay off my college debt?”

 

“No, you work here,” Hyunwoo let go of Changkyun, “in a way, I’m already paying off your debt.” 

 

“Damn,” Kihyun faked disappointment. Everyone chuckled.

 

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re the only one here with a college education,” Jooheon said. 

 

“I should’ve done college first,” Changkyun sighed, shaking his head. “Anyways, I really do need to go. I’m pretty sure my boss must be fuming right now. She’s not a nice lady ever, so I’m scared. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He did a general goodbye wave before exiting the shop.  

 

“I think I should go too,” Hoseok muttered, straightening himself up since he had been leaning against the counter. 

 

“No!” Jooheon said. Hyungwon grabbed to his arm laughing. “You should stay some more time. Do you have anything after this? You’ve been here a few hours. You must be hungry, and trust me. We have enough pizza for you.”

 

“Um…” Hoseok looked stumped, like he did not expect that answer. He probably did not. He shook his head, “I don’t have anything after this, but I think I might be a bother if I stay.” 

 

Jooheon shook his head, “no, you won’t, dude. You come here often. We should get to know you. Right, Hyunwoo? Kihyun?” 

 

Hyunwoo shrugged, “it wouldn’t be a bother if you stay.” 

 

“Kihyun?” Jooheon asked again. Everyone turned to look at Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun had a questioning look on his face. Why was it up to him for Hoseok to stay? Hoseok looked at him, expectantly, hoping to stay. It should not be up to Kihyun. Hoseok could stay if he wanted to. 

 

Kihyun thought back to earlier, to Hoseok being so close to him. Kihyun started to feel queasy. Now he was not so sure. He really did not know how he was feeling at the moment and Hoseok being here was not helping him think. Kihyun knew himself and he knew how others saw him. If Hoseok stayed here, Kihyun might not speak, too lost in thought and too distracted by the mere presence of Hoseok. Everyone will know that something was wrong. 

 

But Kihyun could not say no. It was mean to tell someone that they could not stay just for the plain reason that they were giving him feelings that he did not wish to have so soon. Kihyun was conflicted, and he was taking too much time to answer. 

 

Kihyun looked at all of them individually. His eyes finally rested on Minhyuk’s, because they always did. Minhyuk was frowning. His eyes were serious. The aura he was giving off was different from the one he had when Changkyun was still here. He disapproved of Hoseok’s presence. He always did, and he had not reason to. It did not matter how interested in Kihyun Hoseok seemed. Minhyuk had no right to judge that situation anymore, and it made Kihyun so mad that he still did. 

 

“Stay,” Kihyun found himself saying to Hoseok before his mind fully processed it. 

 

Hoseok’s grin was absolutely stunning. Kihyun felt all of his anger suddenly vanish. That effect was too sudden. Kihyun was scared of what it could imply. He shook his thoughts away and decided that it was better to stuff his mind with pizza instead.

 

Hoseok thanked him, but Kihyun was too busy reaching for the pizza boxes to acknowledge it. 

 

They settled in the couches of the waiting area. The pizza stayed on a rolling cart that they pushed around when someone on the other side of the room wanted pizza. It was a rather unstable way to deliver pizza. A box had already fallen on the floor. The insides were luckily salvaged. 

 

Conversations and laughter filled the air. Jooheon left and came back with beer, so the conversations were looser than usual. Everyone was getting along, but Kihyun was quiet. Hoseok was sitting next to him. His presence was strong even if he was just laughing with Hyungwon. Kihyun’s mind was blank but not at the same time. He wanted to focus on Hoseok, to look at him and just analyze everything - all his thoughts and all his actions - to try and make sense about what he was feeling, but he could not stare at Hoseok right now, not without Dumb and Dumber (read: Jooheon and Hyungwon) throwing comments his way. Kihyun sighed.

 

Someone gently tapped his side. Kihyun looked to his side to see Hoseok staring at him with an expression that was making Kihyun’s insides melt and his mind scream, “why now?” 

 

“Are you okay?” Hoseok asked.

 

“Dandy,” Kihyun replied, mentally hitting the side on his head, because who still said dandy?

 

“Here,” Hoseok handed him a small condiment container.

 

“Huh?” Kihyun looked at it, “what it that?”

 

“Honey,” Hoseok said, “you’ve been staring at your pizza for a good twenty minutes now. I don’t know if it’s because you don’t like how it tastes, but…” he cleared his throat, “pizza always seems to taste better to me with honey.” He smiled, and Kihyun knew that he could not reject the offer, not that he was ever planning to. 

 

“Thanks,” Kihyun gently grabbed the container, careful to not touch Hoseok’s hands in the process. He was scared of what he might feel if he did.  

 

Kihyun hated this sudden loss of control over his emotions. He could hear Hyungwon and Jooheon whispering and snickering in the background. They could see right through him. He should have left, should have come up with an excuse and hightailed it back to his home. 

 

Kihyun did not have a plate or anything that he could rest his pizza on while he opened the container of honey. He looked around helplessly, and when he was ready to stand up and put his pizza on the pizza carton, Hoseok spoke up, “here, let me do it.” Kihyun looked at him to tell him that he could do it himself, but he was at a lost for words as he stared at Hoseok’s face. He looked too caringly at Kihyun, too softly, too gently. Kihyun did not deserve those looks. He was just Hoseok’s tattoo artist. That was all he needed to be.

 

He was not falling for him, right?

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone know how can I stop the first chapter note from appearing in the other chapters lol  
> Anyways, I am back with the next chapter! I knew it would take a while for me to upload considering they are becoming longer and a bitch to edit sigh... Plus, I am so focused on the World Cup and I'm becoming busy. 8K WORDS Y'ALL WE ARE REALLY GETTING IT  
> Umm I don't think I have much to say right now.  
> How did you guys feel about this chapter? Is it good? Is it getting interesting? Is the pace good? Is the length good?  
> Thank you very much for reading, guys! Thank you for the kudos and thank you for the comments! Everything is so very welcomed :3  
> See you next week or sooner who knows, guys! Bye-Bye!


	4. 4:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One step closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was seriously gonna write, "they be steppin up" as the chapter summary but I stopped myself lol

  
  
  
  


Yoongi was a close friend of Kihyun. Maybe more than close, maybe even best friend. They met the first year of university when they introduced themselves as each other’s roommate. Being forced to sleep in the same quarters together brought them close. Being an art major and a music major meant that they did not have that many classes in common, but being brought together at the end of a long day helped them form a friendship. 

 

Their friendship definitely solidified one morning, when after a night of excessive drinking, Yoongi woke up with a badly executed and thankfully tiny hip tattoo. Kihyun was the only person known in the dorms to have a tattooing machine so it was easy to find who the blackout drunk culprit was. 

 

Kihyun had to beg and beg and beg for forgiveness, because he would have never tattooed that monstrosity on Yoongi sober. He would never tattoo anyone other than himself sober because he knew nothing of the technicalities of tattooing back then. Yoongi knew that Kihyun was telling the truth and begrudgingly accepted his apology though he never forgot that it had happened and would never let Kihyun live it down. Plus, Kihyun paid for the cover up tattoo once Yoongi noticed that the wretched tattoo was ruining his love life. 

 

They spent the next years together and moved in together after college. Both struggled through their early twenties together. Both were never quite sure what they wanted to do with their lives. It was Yoongi that pushed Kihyun to become a tattoo artist and get the apprenticeship at Hyunwoo’s shop, and it was Kihyun who pushed Yoongi to interview and audition to become a teacher at a prestigious fine arts school three hours away. They both accomplished their goals. Kihyun now tattooed at one of the busiest shops in the city and its surrounding areas and possibly the country and Yoongi teaches and directs the orchestra at one of the most exclusive and prestigious boarding schools in the country. 

 

Two young people, still only in their mid twenties, were accomplishing their dreams thanks to each other. It should come to no surprise that, even though now they lived far away from each other, they still kept in contact with each other. 

 

Yoongi was Kihyun’s first appointment on his first day of work after he received his certification. He traveled three whole hours just to tattoo something that barely took two hours, and Kihyun appreciated him for it. Yoongi showed he cared by his actions. Kihyun knew that well. They knew a lot about each other, which was why Kihyun found no problem telling Yoongi about whatever could be bothering him at the moment.    
  


At this moment, it was Hoseok. 

 

“So he’s a customer that won’t stop bothering you?” Yoongi asked after Kihyun finished a small rant about Hoseok. 

 

Kihyun stopped, thinking for a second. “He doesn’t bother me,” he said. 

 

Yoongi moved his hands and put them behind his head. He was currently lying on the chair. Kihyun was tattooing the area left of his belly button, from his bottom rib to the top of his hip, near where his first tattoo ended. “Then what bothers you about him?”

 

“Nothing about him bothers me,” Kihyun said, “I guess I’m just bothered by myself.” 

 

Kihyun looked at Yoongi, and Yoongi was raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?” Yoongi asked. 

 

Yoongi did not like vague comments. He did not like when conversations were puzzles he had to put together himself. He was a straight to the point person. It was unfortunate that Kihyun did not have a straight to the point answer. “You're gonna have to bear with me here,” Kihyun warned. 

 

“Oh, boy,” Yoongi scoffed, rolled his eyes, and went to stare at the ceiling. He looked like he had already tuned Kihyun out, but Kihyun knew that he was listening. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, but then sighed, “he's not the first person to act like that towards me.”

 

“Is he creepy as fuck?” Yoongi cut in. 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, thank goodness.” He sighed contently, “he’s easy to talk to. He’s good company, helps me when he has the chance. He compliments me a lot.”

 

“Well, I’d expect that. The compliments,” Yoongi said, “you’re his tattoo artist.”

 

“Yeah, but it’s more than that. He’s-” Kihyun’s mind ran blank, only to fill up again with pictures of Hoseok, “he just seems like a really nice person, and it doesn’t help that he is extremely attractive.” All the gym photos that Hoseok posted on social media ran through his mind. 

 

Yoongi raised his head. Kihyun thought that he would have sat up if he could. He looked comical with just his head up. “Kihyun,” Yoongi called his attention.

 

Kihyun stopped tattooing and looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow, “yeah?” 

 

“Do you like him?” Yoongi asked, straight-forward, no hesitation, very like him. 

 

Kihyun felt a pause in time. He felt like all the oxygen he had in his lung disappeared at the same time. “What? Why would you ask that?” He sputtered. Yoongi raised a brow, not believing him. Kihyun cleared his throat. 

 

There was no point in denying it. He could not make Yoongi believe what Kihyun himself did not believe. Kihyun has spent nights wondering exactly what Hoseok made him feel and all Kihyun could come up with was  _ feelings _ . Kihyun knew that he was at least very attracted to Hoseok, and that he regretted not locking the door or closing or doing literally anything that could have cause Hoseok to kiss him that last appointment. Yes, Kihyun was attracted to Hoseok, but he was too scared to venture past that, too scared to think of what could have happened had Hoseok succeeded in kissing him if those were his true intentions.

 

“B-Besides,” Kihyun stuttered, looking away from Yoongi, “he's a customer. It's inappropriate.”

 

Yoongi scoffed, throwing his head back again, “inappropriate, you? Kihyun, please, you’ve hooked up with our good-for-nothing Teacher’s Assistant back in college and your tattoo mentor guy. I think we both know your choice in partners doesn't take into consideration these aspects. Dating your customer would be a downgrade for you.”

 

Kihyun frowned. Out of any person, he did not expect Yoongi to be the one to bring up his past relationship failures. “And we both know how those relationships ended up in.”

 

Yoongi sighed, “Kihyun, that’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

 

Kihyun shook his head, narrowing his eyes and getting back to tattooing, “no, it’s fine. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” 

 

“Kihyun, no,” Yoongi sounded serious, and it was not the serious as in his normal serious. Serious, as in he wanted to be heard, because his next words were going to be true. “That’s not what I meant. What I’m saying is - um…” Too bad that there were moments where Yoongi was not good with words. He was always better with music. He sighed, “look, I’ve never met this guy. I have no clue how he looks like or what he’s like but… is he different from Minhyuk or that one asshole who I will once again say that I will never name again?” 

 

Kihyun chuckled slightly. There was no point in not answering Yoongi. “Yeah…” 

 

“Then, give it a fucking shot,” from the corner of his eye, Kihyun saw Yoongi raise his hand, as if he had been stating the obvious but was never heard. “Bond over your love of tattoos or something and not mutual absolute lust or bad relationships.”

 

Kihyun sighed. Yoongi made it sound so easy. It was not. It would never be. “I don’t know.”

 

“Whatever then,” Yoongi settled, “I’m not gonna try to change your mind. This could be a mistake, though, just saying.” He shrugged.

 

“Don’t say it then,” Kihyun mumbled. He really did not want to think about it right now, did not want to think about what it would be like to be with Hoseok. It could be great, amazing, and just like all his relationships, it could end in Hell. 

 

Yoongi let out a noise of acknowledgement. He spoke no more after it, and Kihyun thought that they would move on and speak about something else in a few minutes. For now, Kihyun focused on tattooing, because when he talked, he was slower in his job.

 

“Think about it this way, Kihyun,” Yoongi started. “At least this relationship will not start with choke me daddy.” 

 

Kihyun’s entire face reddened. He sometimes hated how open he was when sharing things with Yoongi back in college. He was incredibly close at throwing the tattoo machine on the floor and punching Yoongi in the face. “For fuck’s sake, Yoongi, shut up,” he slammed his free hand next to Yoongi’s thigh and glared at him. There was no spite on his voice. He knew this would happen over and over again the moment he had first told Yoongi. Still, it was annoying how Yoongi was smirking at him. “Shut up, or I’ll tattoo a dick on you.”

 

Yoongi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “damn, what’s up with you and dicks? Are you craving one that badly? You should go talk to that Ho- OW!” 

 

Kihyun jabbed Yoongi’s side hard, right between his ribs. “Yeah, keep talking,” he said through gritted teeth.

 

“What the hell, man? I’m suing,” Yoongi frowned, glaring at Kihyun.

 

Kihyun smirked, “you can’t. You signed a contract against that.”

 

“Then I’m telling Hyunwoo,” Yoongi said. 

 

“He won’t believe you,” Kihyun almost did an evil laugh, “you already told him I tattooed a dick on you last time.”

 

“You did tattoo a dick on me last time!” Yoongi raised his voice.

 

“And I covered it up right way! It was an filling area anyways. Stop whining, gosh…” Kihyun rolled his eyes. 

 

Yoongi huffed air, laying back down flat. Kihyun smiled, letting out taunting noises. He knew that he had won. Kihyun went back to tattooing, gently lining and cleaning up the excess ink. Yoongi stayed quiet. When Kihyun glanced up at him for a second, he saw Yoongi staring at the ceiling with his eyebrows furrowed and his lips thin. Kihyun wanted to ask what he was thinking. He will if Yoongi did not say anything in the next few minutes. 

 

“Seriously, fuck that guy,” Yoongi said after a few more minutes. 

 

Kihyun chuckled. He knew Yoongi had been thinking of something intently. “Who?”

 

“That asshole, that fucking asshole,” Yoongi answered, angrily staring at Kihyun.

 

Oh, Kihyun knew who. “Are seriously still thinking about that guy?”

 

“Yes! He boils my fucking blood. Seriously, what the hell did you see in that guy? I knew he was a fucking asshole the moment I walked in through his classroom door. I was shocked when you showed up at our dorm with him one day,” Yoongi scoffed.

 

Kihyun chuckled at the bittersweet, old memories. It was good. He was good, until it all went to Hell and Kihyun saw that man for who he really was. Kihyun shook his head softly, “I really don’t know what I saw in him.”

 

“You never moved past his supposed attractiveness, which I never saw, by the way. Goodness, I’m pretty sure I told you that I drank a whole bottle in your name once I found out that he got his ass arrested last year. Ha! You dodged a fucking bullet with that motherfucker. You might have even dodged one with Minhyuk, honestly, but I don’t think we’re in the right place and time to discuss those matters,” Yoongi muttered the last part.

 

Kihyun laughed bitterly, “yeah…” He did not bother saying anything else. 

 

Little did Yoongi know that both bullets had hit Kihyun point blank in the heart. The wounds never fully closed and scarred. They were a constant reminder of his mistakes in love. They were ghosts of his past that followed him around endlessly. One tainted his mind with constant ugly words that Kihyun could never escape, and the other inked his skin and filled his insides with doubt. Kihyun knew Yoongi did not mean it, but he filled Kihyun’s mind once again with everything Kihyun wanted to forget about relationships. 

 

Kihyun could not sleep that night. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“So how is the pain level?” Hoseok asked as Kihyun cleaned his ear with a disinfectant. 

 

“Depends on how well you handle pain,” Kihyun answered and he grabbed and the sterile needle packet. 

 

“How well do I handle pain?” Hoseok turned to look at him.

 

“You’re not bad,” Kihyun said and opened the packet. He looked at Hoseok. “Piercings are different from tattoos though. It might hurt less,” he smiled, “or it might hurt more.”

 

“O-oh,” Hoseok shook his head, “I don’t like how you smiled there.” He took a deep breath and shuddered it out.

 

Kihyun shook his head, “you’ll be fine, Hoseok.” He wanted to laugh at Hoseok’s nervousness. He considered it cute. He was always excited for tattoos, but he was getting nervous for piercings. For Kihyun, piercings did hurt less since it was a sharp quick pain rather than the elongated pain of getting a tattoo, but it was different for everyone.

 

“I watched a lot of videos of people getting piercings, and that moment where the needle pierces the skin always seems to be the most painful thing ever, and I am not ready for it,” Hoseok shook his head again.

 

Kihyun smiled, “hey, you’ll be fine.” He put a hand on Hoseok’s shoulder, “piercings aren’t that painful for me. That’s why I have many.” 

 

Hoseok looked at him in the eyes, and he must have seen Kihyun’s sincerity, so he nodded, sighing, “yeah, it won’t be that bad.” Kihyun’s smile softened and he looked at Hoseok’s hands, which were nervously gripping the fabric of Hoseok’s pants. 

 

Kihyun felt the intense need to grab one of them and gently hold it. 

 

He bit his bottom lip and looked away. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, but that’s probably because I used an actual needle and no numbing cream or anything to pierce myself when I was around seventeen years old.”

 

Hoseok stopped moving. He looked at Kihyun with wide eyes, “dude, what the fuck?”

 

Kihyun laughed, and he felt that need to grab Hoseok’s hand diminish. He wanted to sigh in relief. “Let’s get this over with. Come on, look straight. You’ll feel a slight pinch…”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun sighed and rolled his chair away from Hoseok. “Done,” he smiled weakly. He rolled his chair all the way to his desk, picked up the hand mirror lying on top of the desk, and rolled back to Hoseok. “Here,” he handed it to Hoseok. 

 

Hoseok excitedly grabbed the mirror and looked at his ears. “Wow,” he gasped, moving the mirror around to look at the piercings from different angles. “Amazing. They’re great, and they barely hurt at all! Ah, I expected nothing less from you, Kihyun,” Hoseok looked at Kihyun with a smile. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, looking down. “They’re still just piercings,” he muttered.

 

“Yes, but you pierced them, gently, and that makes them all the more better,” Hoseok said, still looking at the mirror. “Now, my only complain is that I should have done more. I still feel like my ears look too bare,” he sighed. “This is what I get for going slow.”

 

Kihyun laughed but did not say anything. The feeling of wanting to hold Hoseok’s hand never truly went away. He stood up and took his gloves off, throwing them in the trash. He yawned, exhausted. He was lucky he did not have any hard jobs today. 

 

“Are you going to take a picture of these ones?” Hoseok asked, showing off both of his ears. 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no.” He walked back to Hoseok, sitting back down on his chair. Hoseok asked why. “You got the common ear piercings,” Kihyun eyed Hoseok’s ears. “I already have photos of those in other people. I don’t see a reason in posting the same piercings over and over again.” Hoseok nodded, looking into the hand mirror again, but looking more at his reflection instead of the piercings. 

 

Kihyun took time to look at Hoseok, too. He was not blonde anymore. It was a striking tomato red, or it must have been when it was first done. It was looking a little washed out already. His black roots were coming out, too. He still looked attractive. It had to be the hair style. Hoseok had it pulled up and brushed back today. 

 

“When did you dye your hair?” Kihyun asked. 

 

Hoseok ran a hand through his hair. He hummed, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, “a few weeks ago, almost two months ago.” He looked at Kihyun, “I think a few days after I last came here.” He raised an eyebrow flirtatiously and smirked, “do you like it?”

 

_ A lot _ , Kihyun almost said. “It’s nice,” he nodded, in a small voice, trying to sound unaffected. 

 

Hoseok grinned happily, eyes closed. His opened his eyes and stared at Kihyun. “I always see you with the same hair color,” he leaned close to Kihyun. It was not close enough to be in Kihyun’s personal space, but it was enough to get Kihyun’s heart to speed up. “Always in a hat or in a beanie.”

 

Kihyun laughed awkwardly and looked down. He grabbed one of the strands of his hair and twirled it around his fingers. “Yeah… I dyed it a long while ago, so the roots are pretty noticeable. I’m just planning on growing it out enough that I can cut out all of the dyed hair.”

 

“Why?” Hoseok asked. He reached and gently grabbed a strand of Kihyun’s hair. Kihyun’s breath hitched.  _ How bold, _ he thought. “Light honey brown looks good on you,” Hoseok said gently and let Kihyun’s hair fall out of his hand. Kihyun was out of words. Hoseok smiled, “your hair is slightly covering your eyes. It looks cute.” 

 

They stayed quiet for a second. Until Hoseok straightened up and cleared his throat, he looked around nervously, tapping his fingers again the chair. “You probably have an appointment after me,” Hoseok said, “I should probably be heading out.” He stood up. 

 

They still had time, Kihyun wanted to say. Hoseok could stay. There was nothing to do. Kihyun had been thinking of mentioning what happened in the last time Hoseok was here, but he was not sure if he was ready to have that conversation. If Hoseok was not planning to kiss, then okay. Though it might be a little awkward for Kihyun to think that Hoseok was going to kiss him. A little disappointing, too. If Hoseok really was going to kiss him, what then? 

 

“Kihyun,” a singsong voice appeared by the door. Kihyun turned to look and saw Changkyun leaning against the doorframe. “She’s here.”

 

That was all Changkyun needed to say for dread to fill every bit of Kihyun’s body. He groaned, “so soon?” 

 

Changkyun saluted him as he turned to leave, “march on, brave soldier.” He tapped on the doorway with a smirk on his face before leaving. 

 

“Who?” Hoseok asked slowly while turning to Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok with a deep pout. He saw Hoseok’s face softening. Kihyun chose to ignore that detail. “You remember when you asked me who my least favorite customer was?” Hoseok nodded. “Yeah, she’s right after you. She’s here,” Kihyun sighed. He was close to whining and throwing a small tantrum. He instead sucked it up and stood up. “Might as well just get it over with. The sooner I start, the sooner I’m done.”

 

Hoseok nodded, “that’s true. I guess I should wish you luck then.” 

 

“That’d be very much appreciated. Thank you,” Kihyun nodded back. 

 

Hoseok chuckled. Suddenly, he gasped and his face brightened up. He tried to calm down and present a face that hid how excited he was just a millisecond ago. “Here,” he placed his hand on Kihyun’s shoulder, “let me help you.” 

 

Kihyun raised a brow, “how?” 

 

“You’ll see,” Hoseok grinned. 

 

Kihyun nodded slowly, “okay?”

 

They started walking out of the private room but Hoseok stopped them at the doorway. “Okay, I just want to say,” Hoseok paused, and Kihyun looked at him expectantly. “Just - please forgive me for whatever I may do.” 

 

Kihyun raised his eyebrows in surprised. He wanted to question Hoseok excessively until he revealed what he was planning but at the same time, he kind of wanted to find out in the act. “Wait, do you even have a plan?”

 

Hoseok grinned and nodded, “kinda.”

 

Kihyun sighed. “Okay,” he simply said, nodding. Hoseok breathed a sigh of relief and they kept walking. 

 

Once they reached the end of the hallway that opened to the main room, Hoseok suddenly grabbed Kihyun’s hand. Kihyun looked at their intertwined hands and then back at Hoseok. He almost questioned Hoseok, but then he remembered that Hoseok was planning something to help him with the Bug Lady. If hand holding was his plan though, it was kind of weak. Still, Kihyun had to admit that he enjoyed it. He did want to do it a few minutes ago. His heartbeat increased. 

 

They walked into the main room. Hand holding must have been pretty noticeable, as Jooheon completely stopped tattooing when he saw them. A face of confusion washed upon his face. Minhyuk, who had been cleaning his area up, paused when he noticed them, too. Kihyun gulped when he noticed Minhyuk’s gaze on him, but he kept looking forward. The urge to pull away from Hoseok appeared, but Kihyun resisted. 

 

Changkyun looked at them from his spot on the front desk. He looked confused, but at least he was not making any dumb comments. No one was, Kihyun noted. 

 

The Bug Lady also stood up from her spot in the waiting area. She had a sly smile on her face, but it fell when she saw their hand holding. Her eyebrows knitted together slightly, and Kihyun wondered if it was working. 

 

Hoseok let go of Kihyun’s hand only pay Changkyun. Changkyun did the payment quitely. He was silent. Everyone was. The shop was rarely quiet, so Kihun wondered what was so shocking about him holding hands with Hoseok. 

 

“Okay, you’re all set,” Changkyun said, giving Hoseok his credit card back. 

 

“Thanks!” Hoseok smiled at him and put his credit card away. He turned to Kihyun and grabbed his hands. Kihyun let him. “Well, I guess this is it for today,” Hoseok smiled at Kihyun sweetly, and Kihyun slowly nodded, captivated. 

 

“Yeah…” He simply whispered.

 

Hoseok let out a small, “heh,” and leaned in. He kissed Kihyun’s cheek softly, and Kihyun froze on the spot, gasping. His hands gripped Hoseok’s tightly. The world around him muted, but sound broke through again when he heard something drop to the floor and break. Hoseok broke away from him to look at the place the sound came from. Kihyun stayed in place. He already had a feeling of who caused the noise. 

 

Minhyuk was standing still. His eyes were wide. His hands were out like he was holding something. A cardboard box was on the floor. The bottom of it was getting tainted with ink. 

 

“Minhyuk!” Kihyun heard Jooheon yell. “You dropped the ink bottles! The containers were glass!” 

 

“Oh, shit,” Hoseok started to move to Minhyuk, maybe to help him, but Kihyun did not let go of his hands and help (pulled) him in place. Hoseok looked at him in confusion.

 

“Just leave him,” Kihyun tilted his head towards Minhyuk for a second, “he’ll be fine.” By this point, Hyunwoo had come out of his private room asking to know where the noise had come from and was currently talking to Minhyuk.

 

Hoseok slowly nodded, “okay then.” He cleared his throat again, straightening up, almost like he was putting up an act, because this was an act. Kihyun suddenly had to remember that. Hoseok let go of one of Kihyun’s hands and cupped Kihyun’s cheek. Kihyun’s stared at Hoseok’s eyes. He wondered if Hoseok was going to kiss him on the lips right in front of everyone. Kihyun was not sure if he would mind that or not. “I’ll talk to you later, Kihyunnie,” he softly said, gently rubbing Kihyun’s cheek with his thumb.

 

Kihyun nodded slowly, scared of breaking the moment, “yeah… you go do that.”  _ You don’t even have my number _ , Kihyun thought,  _ but this is an act, right…? _

 

Hoseok smiled and let go of Kihyun. He took a few steps back, still looking at Kihyun. He waved goodbye at him and walked to the waiting room. He turned back one last time, maybe to see if Kihyun was still looking at him. He was. Hoseok grinned and then left. 

 

Kihyun felt paralyzed, cemented to the floor.

 

“Wait,” Changkyun stood next to Kihyun. He whispered, “are you and Wonho...?” 

 

Kihyun looked at him and then at Minhyuk, who was crouched down on the floor cleaning the broken glass pieces with Hyunwoo and looked at him like he heard what Changkyun asked. Kihyun shook his head, “no.”

 

And that made him feel sad all of a sudden.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Later that night, Kihyun received a notification on his phone: a private message on Instagram. It was Wontokki.

 

_ ‘I’m so, so, so, so sorry, Kihyunnie! I think I crossed the line by doing what I did. I’m so, so, so, so sorry if I made you uncomfortable! It wasn’t my intention!!’ _ and a bunch of sad emoticons followed. 

 

Kihyun smiled at the message and read it over and over again. He was not mad. He was not uncomfortable. Only a little surprised. He had to admit that he could not stop thinking of Hoseok’s lips on his cheek for the rest of the day. His cheeks were a soft pink for the rest of the say and Jooheon and Changkyun would not hesitate to tease him about it, and it was strange to Kihyun how much he did not mind. He still minded at times, when he saw that the comments were getting to Minhyuk, causing Kihyun’s stomach to stir in uncomfortable ways and his heart to constrict, causing him to work in his private room in hopes of not dealing with Minhyuk and his feelings. 

 

_ ‘Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind. Thanks for the help!’  _

 

Kihyun sent the message and then absentmindedly realized that it was the first message he had ever sent Hoseok back. Kihyun threw his phone on his bed, believing that Hoseok would not answer soon, and set his desk up to work on tattoo ideas. It seemed like late at night was when his creativity flowed. He heard his phone ding again in the middle of preparing his desk.

 

_ ‘Ah, what a relief. I guess it did help haha. Did it?’ _

 

_ ‘Yeah! She seemed very confused about the whole situation. She kinda of backed off through the whole appointment. Granted, I did drag Changkyun along with me.’ _

 

_ ‘Haha, I feel like I should say poor Changkyun. What did she want done? I think you said she only does bug tattoos?’ _

 

_ ‘Yeah, she does. She got a dragonfly. Body right through her midline and the wings across her chest. It was actually pretty cool. Especially when she did not try to do anything. I did the lining today. She wants a tint of green later, and I need to darken the body.’ _

 

_ ‘That actually sounds really interesting! And I am sure it is great, too, considering you’re the one tattooing it.’  _

 

Kihyun smiled, typing his answer, and before he knew it, he had talked to Hoseok for hours. It was easy, far too easy. Kihyun never got around to doing what he really wanted to do that night. He slightly wondered why he was letting himself do this, letting himself get carried along the conversation with Hoseok, letting himself accept Hoseok’s small outputs of flirtation, letting himself respond them. This bridge line of attraction was slowly becoming a web and Kihyun feared, that if he did not escape soon, he might get trapped.   

 

Kihyun was tired of getting wrapped around a web, and yet Hoseok made it so easy. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hoseok put his shirt back on and Kihyun felt like he could breathe again. It was late at night. The shop had closed already, and only Kihyun and Hoseok were left. Hoseok was as giddy as he always was when he finished getting a tattoo done. This time, it was on his shoulder blade, meaning he had to take off his shirt. Normally, this should be nothing to Kihyun, but of course, it was Hoseok, so his heart had to soar and explode and act like Kihyun was about to do something in his private room that he should not be doing. 

 

It was hard to focus on doing his job when every time Hoseok moved to get more comfortable, Kihyun see how every muscle moved. It was a stunning sight for Kihyun and he had to remind himself to not audibly choke on air every time. 

 

“Come on. It’s late. We should get going,” Kihyun said as he finished wiping his hands after washing them. 

 

“It is late,” Hoseok acknowledged. Kihyun nodded and left the room assuming that Hoseok was in tow, which he was. “Is there anybody else here?” He asked once they entered the main room. 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, I’m the last one.” He made a beeline to the front desk and set the computer up. “I’m closing tonight,” he said and then told Hoseok what he had to pay. 

 

“Oh,” Hoseok handed him his credit card. “What do you have to do when closing?” 

 

“Just make sure everything is in order and clean my area,” Kihyun made the payment, “and probably clean someone else’s area because Jooheon and Minhyuk never clean well enough.” He gave Hoseok his card back.

 

Hoseok chuckled, putting his card and wallet away, “so your day isn't over yet?”

 

That question sparked a yawn from Kihyun. He really wanted to go home. “No,” he said mid-yawn and stretched. “Still got stuff to do…” He looked down, frowning. He was considering just leaving, but that would be very not him. He could if he wanted. Hyunwoo sometimes forgot to make sure that everything was clean during opening. Kihyun had to remind him. 

 

“I have nothing after this,” Hoseok said, “I can help you.” 

 

Kihyun looked at him with wide eyes. Hoseok was giving him that soft, sweet smile that tended to melt his insides. “No, you can’t,” he shook his head, “you don’t have to, Hoseok. You’re a customer.” 

 

“I want to be your friend, Kihyun,” Hoseok simply said, softly, his hand reaching and grabbing Kihyun’s shoulder. He then pouted, looking a little hurt, “we talk so much online. You don’t consider me a friend?” He tilted his head.

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok in shock. A friend? Well, yeah, Kihun guessed he did consider Hoseok a friend. They did talk far too much far too amicably to be anything else. Still, there was something about Hoseok wanting to be friends that did not sit well with Kihyun. Being friends was good. Yet, it left Kihyun slightly disappointed. That was all? “No, I do consider you a friend,” Kihyun muttered, shaking his head and looking down. 

 

Hoseok grinned happily, “then, let me help.” He looked sideways quickly. Kihyun thought that it was cute. “So where can I start?” 

 

Kihyun sighed, not mad or frustrated, just simply sighed, with a smile on his face. Having Hoseok around to help would be nice company. “Alright,” he nodded, “follow me.” He motioned Hoseok to follow and they both went to back into the hallway. 

 

Kihyun made a stop in his room to grab his phone to put some music on and then led Hoseok to the supply closet at the end of the hall. Kihyun handed Hoseok a broom and told him to sweep the floors. Kihyun might find Hoseok pleasant and nice company, but he sure as Hell did not trust Hoseok around precious tattooing material. He did not trust Changkyun and he been here for nine months or so now. He did not even trust Jooheon or Minhyuk and they started working way before him. 

 

Hoseok complimented him on his music tastes and Kihyun had to actually teach Hoseok how to sweep correctly. Then, Hoseok spent five minutes asking why was just sweeping not the correct way to sweep. Kihyun was extremely close to kicking him out of the shop, but he instead simply amused Hoseok by answering all of his dumb questions in the most sarcastic way possible. It was pleasant. Kihyun had a light feeling in his chest as he wiped the desk and shelves in his room clean. He hoped he was not blushing. He had felt his cheeks warm up when he got close to Hoseok while teaching him how to sweep correctly. He still felt his cheeks warming up just thinking about that, and he could not stop thinking about that, so he only assumed that he was constantly red at the moment. 

 

Cleaning was finished in less time than it normally took. Hoseok was a big help, and Jooheon and Minhyuk had actually cleaned their areas for once (or they forced Changkyun to clean for them, whichever). Kihyun turned off all the necessary lights and turned on the alarm system before leading Hoseok outside the shop and closing the store behind me. 

 

“Thank you, Hoseok,” Kihyun smiled, turning to Hoseok. “You helped me a lot.”

 

Hoseok grinned, “that’s exactly what I wanted to do.” Kihyun smiled back at him.

 

The shop opened late and closed late. The stars and moon were already high above them by the time Kihyun and Hoseok were out of the shop. They really should be heading home, yet Kihyun was not really ready to part from Hoseok and say goodbye, and if Hoseok was looking at him like that, with his soft eyes and sweet smile, Kihyun thought that Hoseok might feel the same way. 

 

“What direction is your home?” Hoseok asked. 

 

“That way,” Kihyun pointed behind Hoseok. 

 

“Ah,” Hoseok sounded disappointed. “I live in the other direction,” he pointed behind Kihyun. “Do you take the bus?” 

 

“No,” Kihyun shook his head, “I walk. It’s close enough.”

 

“Lucky you,” Hoseok chuckled.

 

They stayed quiet again. It was a comfortable silence as Hoseok looked away to stare at the blank sky. Kihyun stared at Hoseok’s features. He thought that maybe it was the time to finally say goodbye, that maybe Hoseok was waiting for that, but yet he still could not bring himself to.

 

Hoseok laughed quietly and looked down. He cleared his throat and looked at Kihyun, inhaling a deep breath before letting it go, “I lied earlier, Kihyun.” 

 

Kihyun perked up, “eh?” When did Hoseok lie? Kihyun ran through all the events that happened in the past hour or so and he could not think of anything. 

 

Hoseok turned to look at Kihyun. His gaze was intense and Kihyun felt his knees wobbling slightly. Hoseok shook his head, “I don’t want to be your friend, Kihyun.” 

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened, confused, all of sudden, “what?”

 

“I don’t think I could handle just that,” Hoseok simply said. 

 

Kihyun opened his mouth, to say something, anything, because he did not understand what Hoseok was planning to say to him. Was he really an unpleasant person to be around? Was Hoseok pretending to just like him? Damn, if so, he was a good actor, but why? Why would he do this? What was he planning to accomplish? Why tell him now? What did Kihyun do? Kihyun felt his face morph into a frown, his face muscles pulling down violently at his lips. His chest hurt. 

 

Hoseok’s face fell when he noticed how Kihyun look. “Wait, no, fuck,” he looked away, nervously running a hand through his hair. 

 

All the confusing, sad, insecure emotions that were making rampage inside of Kihyun’s chest suddenly stopped and started to fade. Kihyun suddenly realized that Hoseok had been putting an act, like he always did when he wanted to sound cool and smooth and suave. He was making statements that would lead up to what he really wanted to say but the emotions that ran through Kihyun’s face stopped him mid-show and burned his stage down. Hoseok was not trying to be mean or an asshole. Kihyun’s emotions and presumptions just caught up with him before Hoseok could finish speaking. 

 

Hoseok sighed, “what I am trying to say it - would you like to go to dinner with me some time?” He looked at Kihyun again, and Kihyun froze.

 

_ Oh… _

 

Kihyun now understood. He thought at least. Hoseok was just trying to ask him out, right?  _ He was trying to be cool about it,  _ Kihyun guessed, but the image broke down half way through, Wait, Hoseok just asked him out. That was the important thing here. Hoseok asked him out. He asked Kihyun if Kihyun wanted to eat dinner with him. 

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened, because it somehow had not fully registered that Hoseok had asked him out. That had to imply that Hoseok liked him, and suddenly, his heart was beating extremely fast from the nerves of Hoseok liking him. It was a good fast beat though. A pleasant one, an  _ ‘oh, my god, it’s true! _ ’ one. 

 

And that brought Kihyun to think,  _ wait, am I happy that Hoseok likes me? Why? Do I really like him back?  _ Kihyun looked at Hoseok, who was anticipating his answer. He was wearing a baseball cap, and it was causing his ears to be more noticeable than they normally were. He looked so cute. God, he looked adorable, and it fit perfectly with his personality, the witty one Kihyun saw in their late night conversations, the one that made Kihun pinch his cheeks and hug his arm while resting his head on his shoulder and -

 

Yeah, maybe Kihyun did like Hoseok back, quite a lot. 

 

Hoseok looked down and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m normally better at this but I just can’t seem to think straight or find the right words when it comes to y-”

 

“You’re gonna need my phone number.”

 

Hoseok paused and so did Kihyun. Those words came out of his mind before he could really think them over. Hoseok blinked, “what?”

 

Kihyun gulped and took a deep breath, “you’re gonna need my phone number, so that we can set up something.”

 

Hoseok stared at him for another minute or so before breaking into a huge smile. “Really?”

 

Kihyun could not help but smile back, nodding, “yeah.”  _ I’ll go on a date with you. _

 

Hoseok walked three steps to Kihyun and took out his phone, handing it to Kihyun excitedly, “wow, I’m so happy right now, Kihyunnie. You have no idea.” Kihyun chuckled, putting his phone number on Hoseok’s phone. “Dinner and a movie? Movie and a dinner? Whichever? Whatever you want? Next weekend?”

 

Kihyun grinned, looking back at Hoseok’s face once he was done saving his number. He was so excited, and Kihyun could not help but be excited to. “Yeah, that sounds fun, but not next weekend. I’m visiting family.” 

 

“Okay then,” Hoseok smiled, “we’ll plan something. We have time.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))))))))))))))))))))) they be steppin up
> 
> hahahaha thank you so much for reading!! Thank up so much for the kudos and the comments and such I appreciate every one of them like crazyyyy
> 
> PSA:  
> \- I haven't been into BTS for a couple of years and even back then I never fully got to know their personalities so I've no clue if I got Yoongi right. I love him though, and I try to keep tabs on BTS as often as I can, but I think you can never really get a person's character like that. I hope he's not too off.   
> \- I recently wrote in the tags that there is mention of a past toxic relationship and here you get the first clue of that. I will not be explicit with it bc it's not what the story is about and I can't bare doing that to Kihyun lol that man will never be mentioned by name bc he doesn't even deserve a name in the first place. Plus, I didn't want to put another member from some other group in it bc I don't like doing that to people either. He is whoever you want him to be!  
> \- I hope ya'll are enjoying this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I hope it keeps on that until the end. Thank you guys!! bye-bye!! <33333


	5. 5:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date! uwu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I write that in the summary...

  
  
  


The date was set for the weekend after Kihyun returned from visiting family. He told absolutely no one. Well, he told Yoongi of course, and Yoongi teased him and made far too many jokes and Kihyun had hung up on him, only to then receive a good luck message. Kihyun could tell no one at the shop. He would never see the end of it. They had finally let Hoseok suddenly kissing him on the cheek die. Kihyun needed a rest from all of the teasing.

 

As the days leading up the date passed, Kihyun felt more and more nervous. The truth was that Kihyun did not want to date. Before Hoseok, that was. Kihyun wanted to swear off dating, to swear off interest in other people. He had done a pretty good job swearing off other people, but Hoseok… Hoseok slipped right through the cracks that Kihyun thought he had completely sealed up. He had made room inside Kihyun and Kihyun was reluctant to kick him out. So much so that Kihyun was making Hoseok feel comfortable, that he had actually given him a chance, given him a date.  

 

Kihyun was scared. He could not help but be. He guessed nervous was the most realistic term, but at the same time, it was not. Kihyun was scared. The nerves rose up his throat and threatened to spill out. The Friday before the date had Kihyun fidgety all throughout work. His coworkers had asked him multiple times what had Kihyun so quiet and jumpy and up in the clouds, but Kihyun refused to give a real answer. 

 

That Saturday, Hoseok had sent him a message portraying his excitement for that night, and Kihyun only answered with a smiling emoji. Kihyun was normally more vocal than that in the text messages. He wondered if Hoseok noticed that something was wrong. If Hoseok did, he said nothing. 

 

Kihyun spent the afternoon choosing what to wear. He tended to become nitpicky when it came to dates, and that just reminded him how real this was. Kihyun had accepted a date from Hoseok. Kihyun had sworn off dating, but he had accepted a date from Hoseok. He was scared yet giddy, because Hoseok was not Minhyuk nor was he the asshole Yoongi made him swear to never name. 

 

Different was good when it came to Kihyun’s love life. Different could mean better - or not. Kihyun thought Minhyuk was different from that asshole, and he was, but he was still far from right for Kihyun. He still did hurt Kihyun deeply, whether he meant to or not. Hoseok could also hurt Kihyun deeply, or he could not. Kihyun would never know unless he tried something out with Hoseok.

 

Yoongi did say that his biggest mistake could be not trying. 

 

Hoseok said that he would take Kihyun out on a simple date: just dinner and a movie. Hoseok had the restaurant already picked out, and they would choose the movie once they go to the movie theatre. Hoseok wanted to keep the restaurant a secret, and he succeeded, because no matter how hard Kihyun tried, Hoseok kept himself tight-lipped. All he said was that it was not a fancy place that Kihyun needed to dress up for. 

 

It should have made his choices easier, but Kihyun had created three outfits and the one he liked the most did not fit the current winter weather outside. Kihyun sighed. Hoseok would be here in thirty minutes or so. 

 

Hoseok wanted to greet him at his apartment. Kihyun told him that he did not have to, because Hoseok coming here would mean him taking the bus all the way here only to take again to the restaurant, which was, apparently, near where Hoseok lived. There was a thirty to forty minute distance between them and Kihyun would feel bad for making Hoseok come all the way here. Hoseok insisted though, and now he was on the way, and Kihyun had barely started getting ready. 

 

“Ugh, why am I overthinking this? It is literally a first date. It is nothing. It means nothing. We’re just - testing the waters. Yeah. I don’t have to worry about anything,” Kihyun sighed and put a hand over his heart, “stop it. It’s just a simple first date.” 

 

Kihyun grabbed one outfit at random and put the other two away before going to take a shower. He quickly dried his hair with his hair blower and put the outfit on. It looked good when it was just laying on his bed, but now he had it on, he felt like it was not good enough or maybe it was too much or maybe Hoseok would not like it or maybe - Kihyun shook his head. Hoseok would be here any minute now so Kihyun did not have time for his mind to go wild with bad thoughts. The outfit was not that bad - should not be that bad. A blue plaid, long-sleeve shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt that was going to be covered by his gray windbreaker anyway accompanied by his dark gray jeans and Timberland boots. On his head would be his usual gray beanie. 

 

His hair was growing long. Recently, Kihyun had noticed how he constantly had to move it away from his eyes were he worked. Plus, his roots were starting to poke out of his beanie. Now, his hair was just looking like a bad ombre job. He really should ditch the beanie and get his hair cut, but there was something comforting about the beanie. Whenever he was nervous, he pulled strands out of the beanie to twirl around or he would hide them there. Sometimes he would put his hair over his eyes on purpose. It would compromise his vision but he helped him walk tall whenever he lacked confidence, and right now, he was lacking confidence. 

 

His phone rang when Kihyun was adjusting his hair of the twelfth time. He could not decide if he wanted to make his hair look parted in the middle or just make it look messy throughout or if pulling more strands out of his beanie would make his hair look too fluffy, or if hiding his hair would make him look too plain. 

 

Kihyun knew instantly that it was Hoseok, that he must be outside, because there was no other person that would call Kihyun right now. Kihyun left the bathroom and grabbed his phone, which was on top of his bed. It was Hoseok. Kihyun took a deep breath and answered the phone. 

 

“Hey,” Kihyun answered, trying to sound as calm as possible and not like his heart was threatening to break out of his chest by his sternum. 

 

_ “Hey! I’m here outside. Are you ready?” _ Hoseok said through the phone. He sounded cold. The nearest bus stop was a block away. 

 

Kihyun was not ready. He did not feel ready. “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” he nodded, even if Hoseok could not see him. 

 

“ _ Okay, I’ll be here _ ,” Hoseok said before hanging up. Kihyun could hear the smile and excitement in his voice. It helped calm Kihyun’s nerves down. 

 

“I can do this,” Kihyun told himself. He quickly walked back to the bathroom to put on cologne and grabbed all the stuff his needed to leave. 

 

The building Kihyun lived at had a lot of security, and to enter it, a key was necessary. When Kihyun stepped outside into the cold, he saw Hoseok leaning against the brick stair railing that lead to the apartment building’s entrance. He was looking handsome, as always. 

 

Hoseok spotted him almost immediately and smiled when they locked eyes. Kihyun smiled back, clearing the hair out of his eyes and walking towards Hoseok. 

 

“Hey, you,” Kihyun greeted once he was in front of Hoseok. It felt strange, being here, with Hoseok, ready for a date, an actual date. Even though Kihyun had been overthinking it all day, it still felt unreal. 

 

Hoseok laughed a little, “hey, you.” He paused for a second. “Shall we go? It’s cold, and we might be able to catch the next bus if we leave now.”

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah, let’s go.”

 

They walked the few steps to the street in silence. Kihyun paused at the beginning of the steps and looked at the apartment building in front of them, the one built across the street from his. Some apartments had their lights on but no one seemed to be looking out their windows, except for a little child on the fourth floor. That was a relief. 

 

Hoseok had kept walking without noticing that Kihyun had stopped, but once he did notice, he stopped and turned back around to see where Kihyun was standing. He walked back to Kihyun. “Did you forget something?” He asked.

 

Kihyun jumped slightly. He had gotten lost in thought while looking at the other building. “No, I’m good. We can leave now,” he smiled at Hoseok before he started to walk to the nearest bus stop. Hoseok followed him without inquiring about anything else. 

 

“I don’t think I told you that you look really handsome tonight, Kihyun,” Hoseok said once they were near the bus stop. 

 

Kihyun smiled and looked down. He knew that his cheeks were red now not only because of the cold. He tried to play it off though, cleared his throat and looked up at the sky, trying to look cool. “Thanks,” he said coolly. He wondered if it worked or if he just looked ridiculous. He heard Hoseok laughing next to him, so he assumed the latter. Kihyun pouted and glared at Hoseok. He was not mad, could not be mad. Any angry feeling he had towards Hoseok dissipated in nanoseconds once his eyes landed on Hoseok. Kihyun did not know how to feel about that. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” he decided to change the subject. 

 

“Thanks,” Hoseok grinned. When they arrived at the bus stop, the bus was not there and there was no shield to cover them from the wind. Hoseok shivered, “ah, it’s so cold. I hate the cold.”

 

Kihyun looked at him and frowned. Great, Hoseok was now cold because he decided to pull this stunt. “I told you that you didn’t have to come all the way here to pick me up.”

 

Hoseok looked at him. No expression of anger or negative emotions was seen on his face. “I told you I wanted to, Kihyun,” he said.

 

“But if you hate the cold, this must have all been a bother to you,” Kihyun pouted. “Really, I wouldn’t have minded going to the restaurant and meeting you there.”

 

Hoseok turned his whole body to look at Kihyun. He was serious. The most serious Kihyun had ever seen him. “It’s never a bother if it’s you, Kihyunnie.” 

 

Kihyun froze because Wonho’s look was intense and Kihyun felt like he was going to melt right then and there. The bright lights of the upcoming bus brought him out of that state, “a-ah…”

 

Hoseok grinned, his serious side gone and replaced by a more goofier one. “Don’t you think it’s quite gentlemanly that I came here to pick you up? Aren’t you touched?”

 

_ Yes, I lied in bed giggling because you were so adamant. _ Kihyun shrugged, “meh…” He still smiled afterward. The bus stopped and the doors opened.

 

Hoseok’s grinned widened, as if satisfied by the answer. He motioned to the bus, “I’ll go in after you.” 

 

His smile caused Kihyun to smile again. Kihyun nodded and stepped into the bus with Hoseok behind him. They sat near the back with Kihyun by the window and Hoseok right next to him. Kihyun leaned against the window. He liked to watch the lights of the city pass him by thoughtlessly whenever he rode the bus. Hoseok was making no attempt to start a conversation, and Kihyun did not feel the need to have a conversation right now. There was barely anyone on the bus, and it was nice. 

 

However, as they got nearer to the center of the city, more and more people entered the bus and silence had long dissipated. Kihyun sighed. The sudden, multiple, hushed, whispered conversations helped blur his mind of any doubts and what-ifs that he had about this date, and that should be good, but it was also making him rather nervous. He was not fond of crowded places if those places were crowded with strangers. He felt like there were eyes on him and the whispers were about him and Hoseok. 

 

Kihyun looked at his hands. They were covered by the sleeves of his shirt. Nothing was showing. No one was commenting about him or his looks. Unless they were talking about his piercings. Kihyun looked around. No one was looking his way. He sighed. Of course, no one was looking his way. No one ever looked his way if he was wearing long sleeves, and even if he was showing his tattoos off, he normally cared not what others thought. He was nervous, however. Going on his first date in a while made him nervous, and things that normally did not bother him now did. Kihyun hit his forehead against the window and wondered why was he like this.

 

Someone nudged his shoulder. That someone could only be Hoseok so Kihyun turned his head to face him. Hoseok smiled at him and took off his right earphone. He handed it to Kihyun. “Here,” he said, “this song is very calming.”

 

Kihyun looked at the earphone and then back at Hoseok. He wondered if Hoseok somehow sensed his slight discomfort. Kihyun grabbed the earphone and placed it in his ear. Hoseok looked at his phone and started the song from the beginning. The beginning melody was slow and sweet. Kihyun closed his eyes and leaned against his seat to enjoy the song better. Kihyun felt his worries slowly dissipate at the singer’s sweet vocals took over the instrumental. 

 

Halfway through the song, Kihyun opened his eyes and saw that Hoseok was still looking at him with a sweet smile and soft eyes. Kihyun’s insides felt squeezy and he wondered how long had Hoseok been staring at him. Kihyun cleared his throat and nodded, “yeah, the song - it’s really good.” 

 

Hoseok let out a laugh, “I knew you would appreciate it.” 

 

Kihyun still felt Hoseok’s gaze on him even though he was looking away. It warmed his face enough to make him believe he was developing a fever.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The restaurant Hoseok took him to was not big, but it was not small either. It had a comfortable, welcoming environment, and Kihyun was glad he did not overdress for the occasion. They were currently seated right across from each other at a table for two in the middle of the restaurant. There were noise and people all around Kihyun, but it was strangely easy to simply focus on Hoseok. 

 

Conversation flowed easily. It occurred to Kihyun that he did not really know anything about Hoseok, yet asking him questions about himself did not feel strange or odd or invasive. It felt nice to learn things about Hoseok and for Hoseok to learn things about him. Kihyun liked their interactions, but it bothered him how easily they had connected. 

 

The conversations had started easily, with the topic that seemed to be the most normal, considering who they were. Hoseok had asked him, “so, when did you get into tattoos?”

 

Kihyun tapped on the table as he thought. He looked up, humming. “I am not quite sure,” he ended up saying. “I always did like them. Probably saw them on someone when I was young and thought they looked nice,” he shrugged and then let out a laugh as a memory came to him, “my mom once told me that she would scold me for drawing things on my arms when I was very young.”

 

Hoseok chuckled with him, “so it was always there, huh?”

 

Kihyun raised his shoulders, “possibly, maybe.” Kihyun looked at Hoseok again and smiled at him when he saw him smiling, albeit a little more awkwardly. “What about you?”

 

“I think it started more in my teen years,” Hoseok put his hands together on the table, “I just remember since then wanting a tattoo.” 

 

Kihyun nodded, “normally, people who want tattoos get them as soon as possible. You’ve waited a while.” It was a pure observation, and Kihyun hoped Hoseok would not take it the wrong way. He suddenly feared Hoseok taking anything the wrong way.

 

Instead, Hoseok nodded, “yeah, between school and work and saving money and what my family might think, plus thinking of what the perfect first tattoo could be, I took a while.” 

 

“Did your family not support the idea of you getting tattoos?” Kihyun asked. He wondered if it was too personal, if he was crossing a line he should not yet cross. 

 

“I never told my family until after I got my first tattoo done. It was really just me. When I showed them, they liked them, but now that I have more, they ask me when will I stop, but never really suggesting when I should stop, I think,” Hoseok paused for a second. Then, he shrugged, “you?”

 

Kihyun chuckled, “I think my mom still hopes it’s all just a phase.” 

 

Hoseok covered his mouth to hide his amusement, “I think it’s a little too late for it to be just a phase anymore.”

 

Kihyun nodded in agreement, “I feel like I always have to remind her that this is my job, too.” He sighed, then shrugged, “my family isn’t too fond of them. If they ask me when my last one is, it’s because they want me to stop. They keep saying I’m gonna regret them later.” 

 

Hoseok nodded, listening, “do you think you will?” 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “doubt it. It’s been a long time since I have gotten my first tattoo. I don’t regret it yet.”

 

The waiter came and asked what they would like to drink. Hoseok ordered cola and Kihyun ordered the cheapest beer. 

 

“When did you get your first tattoo? What is it?” Hoseok tilted his head, “I think you once told me, but I forgot.”

 

Kihyun shook his head, “that’s no problem.” He unbuttoned the buttons of his sleeve and rolled his sleeve up, revealing all the tattoos he had on his left forearm. He rested his arm on the table and pointed at the one under his elbow joint, “this one.” It was a medium-sized geometric outline of a fox’s head. 

 

“Woah,” Hoseok said in amazement. He leaned forward and touched the tattoo. Kihyun stiffened lightly, surprised by the unexpected touch. “It’s really nice!” He complimented and looked at him, “when did you get it?”

 

“You're gonna be surprised," Kihyun slightly smirked mischievously. It was surprising, shocking, strange, out of the ordinary. Kihyun suddenly thought, what if Hoseok judged him for it. It would not be the first time. His playful side was gone and he looked away. He cleared his throat, “fifteen.”

 

Hoseok gasped, and Kihyun looked away, embarrassed. “Fifteen?!”

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah…” 

 

“Wow, that's amazing,” Hoseok simply said.

 

Kihyun looked at him in surprise. Hoseok sounded awed, not judgemental. He was still looking at Kihyun’s tattoo with so much interest. “Really?” Kihyun asked, not believing that Hoseok was not saying that he was weird or stupid for doing it that young.

 

“Yeah,” Hoseok nodded, “how did you get it done?” He looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t think any professional would tattoo a fifteen-year-old.” 

 

Hoseok genuinely sounded interested and curious. Kihyun was starting that think that Hoseok really was not going to judge him. “I did it myself,” he answered.

 

Hoseok’s eyes widened, “how?”

 

“Easy,” Kihyun shrugged, “I bought a tattoo machine online and just did it.” He shook his head, “I don’t recommend it though! It’s incredibly easy to fuck up, and - or - get it infected.” 

 

“You did it so perfectly though,” Hoseok said, looking back at the tattoo, tracing its line. 

 

Kihyun was almost mesmerized. It was getting hard to think. “That’s because I decided to look up how to tattoo instead of going blindly at it or with a permanent marker like my original plan was.” Kihyun moved his chair closer to the table and leaned closer to the tattoo and to Hoseok. He suddenly felt the great need to spurt out tattoo knowledge. It might help with his nerves. “Did you feel the bumps in some parts?” Kihyun asked as he traced his tattoo over the parts he knew were bumpier. Hoseok nodded. “I tattooed this horribly the first time so it scarred horribly. The only reason it looks good now is because I have gone over it over the years.” 

 

Hoseok hummed and nodded, “I see.” 

 

Kihyun smiled, not really knowing what to say next. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the waiter coming back with their drinks, so Kihyun pulled his arm close to him and quickly rolled his sleeve down, covering his tattoos. Hoseok stared at him with a bit of confusion. The waiter set their drinks down and asked if they were ready to order. Hoseok laughed awkwardly, grabbing the menu, “I haven’t even looked at the menu.” The waiter smiled at them and said that he would return later. 

 

Kihyun also grabbed the menu. He skimmed through it. Everything looked good. Kihyun did not know what to order. 

 

“Well, you already know what my first tattoo is,” Hoseok lowered the menu to look at Kihyun. “You did it after all,” he said, voice low. 

 

Kihyun nodded, “I did. I wasn’t supposed to, but I did.” 

 

Hoseok chuckled, “apprentices aren’t supposed to tattoo, right?”

 

Kihyun nodded, “yes, apprentices don’t tattoo on customers. It could cause a lot of trouble to the shop and its tattoo artists.”

 

 “So Minhyuk could have gotten into a shit ton of trouble if anyone found out?” Hoseok asked.

 

“If you hated how I tattooed and spread that it was an apprentice, heck yeah, Minhyuk and Hyunwoo, since they’re co-owners of the shop.” 

 

Hoseok raised his eyebrows and put the menu completely down, reminding Kihyun that he should look at his instead of just simply engaging in conversation with Hoseok (talking to Hoseok was simply so easy), “really?” 

 

Kihyun nodded, raising his menu to read its many options, “yeah, Hyunwoo and Minhyuk had been tattooing for years together at another shop and they decided to leave the shop together and start their own business. It’s mostly Hyunwoo who has control of everything though. Minhyuk is kinda just there for the title and the leadership role. It’s worked out though, as you can see.” Kihyun heard Hoseok agree with him. He was probably nodding. Kihyun could not see through the menu. He also did not know what to order. 

 

Kihyun put the menu down on the table and slid it towards Hoseok, “what do you recommend?”

 

Hoseok leaned above the menu and tilted his head. He hummed and pointed at one of the items, “this. They say it’s their best dish, and well,” he looked at Kihyun, “you deserve the best.” 

 

Kihyun looked at him with wide eyes and pink cheeks, “did you just-?”

 

Hoseok snickered and suddenly grabbed Kihyun’s left hand, startling him. He pushed the sleeve of Kihyun’s shirt to his wrist and ran his thumb over the back of Kihyun’s hand. “Is this a new tattoo?”

 

Kihyun looked at the tattoo. It started by his wrist and ended at the beginning of his fingers. He nodded, “yeah, Hyunwoo did it a month ago or so.” Kihyun noted that Hoseok was touchy. He was not sure if he minded. 

 

“It’s so nice,” Hoseok smiled. “Wow, I love the coloring. It’s so subdued that it looks like it’s black ink and its shading but it’s not.” 

 

Kihyun chuckled. He was glad Hoseok was not looking at him. All these compliments from Hoseok were very well received, but he still felt a bit awkward about being showered in compliments from him. “Hyunwoo is a professional, and I have never been one for bright colors.”

 

Hoseok sighed, “I never really get to see your hands when you're tattooing. I wish I did though. They're so pretty.” Hoseok moved his hands delicately on top of Kihyun's, and Kihyun blushed over that compliment. It was so sudden. 

 

Sudden and familiar. 

 

Kihyun was suddenly brought back to a time when callous hands grabbed his almost inkless hands in the dark, when only the moonlight illuminated them, and chapped lips kissed every digit gingerly. “These hands are so beautiful,” a rough, deep voice would cut through the night. 

 

Kihyun shook his head and pulled his hands away from Hoseok's grasp, faster than he intended to. The action left Hoseok surprised. Kihyun cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thanks,” he muttered while looking away. 

 

“Are you okay?” Hoseok asked, hesitantly. 

 

Kihyun’s heart palpitated, and it was not because he was nervous over Hoseok. He stared at one point of the table, at the shiny eating utensils, with wide eyes, in hopes that focusing on those will help his mind not focus on his memories. He nodded slowly, “yeah… I just…” He tried quickly to come up with an excuse. His voice felt detached. “I’m just hungry.” 

 

“Ah…” Hoseok nodded. He did not sound convinced, but he did not push the subject forward. Kihyun was grateful. “Are you going to order that item I showed you? I can call the waiter right now and order for us. Is that okay?”

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah, that will be great.” 

 

Hoseok called for the waiter that was serving them, and as Hoseok talked to the waiter, Kihyun focused on getting his heart rate under control. He constantly told himself that he needed to focus on the present. The past is the past, and it was long gone. What happened happened and Kihyun should not let it bring him down. Not now. By the time Hoseok finished ordering for them, Kihyun had slowly started to look at him again. 

 

Once the waiter was gone, Hoseok looked back at Kihyun with a soft smile. It was comforting. “Are you feeling better?” 

 

Kihyun nodded, “I am.” 

 

“That’s good,” Hoseok’s smile brightened. He did not ask what was wrong. Kihyun wondered what that could mean. Maybe Hoseok thought that it would make Kihyun uncomfortable, which it would; Kihyun was not ready to reveal that part of his past yet, or maybe Hoseok did not care enough to ask. Kihyun gulped. He doubted it was the second option. Hoseok did not seem like that kind of guy, but once that thought was planted on his mind, his insecurities watered it until it grew into a tall, uncuttable tree, especially in moments likes this, when his mind decided to take him back into his distant past. “They’re fast with food here,” Hoseok informed Kihyun, “so you won’t be hungry for much longer.” 

 

Kihyun simply nodded, and they stayed quiet. Hoseok looked down and tapped the table with his finger repeatedly, as if it was a nervous habit. Kihyun wondered what he could be nervous about. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Kihyun observed Hoseok and Hoseok looked down, tapping on the table and looking at Kihyun occasionally with a shy smile. Hoseok's confidence and talkativeness were suddenly gone.

 

Kihyun realized that if he himself did not start talking, they might be in silence for the rest of the dinner. Silence was not bad, but this dinner was meant for them to know each other. Kihyun would feel horrible if it was ruined. He cleared his throat to catch Hoseok's attention, “so…” He noticed his voice was kind of raspy, so he cleared it again, “what do you do for a living?” It seemed like a question Kihyun should already know the answer to, and he felt embarrassed for not knowing. 

 

“I'm a personal trainer,” Hoseok answered. His cheerfulness was slowly coming back on his tone.

 

Kihyun nodded. He looked at Hoseok's arms and remembered the muscles he was when he tattooed Hoseok's shoulder and the firmness of his legs when he tattooed there twice. Hoseok was fit, so fit, so it made sense that it was part of his job. “I see,” Kihyun said, still looking at Hoseok's clothed arms, still daydreaming, “I should've guessed that.”

 

Hoseok chuckled. “I do try,” he said, winking, trying to be flirtatious. It might be working. Hoseok relaxed his face into a simple smile, “I'm thinking of going back to school to finish my physical therapy degree though.”

 

“Oh, really?” Kihyun raised his eyebrows in surprise. Hoseok nodded. “That's nice,” Kihyun nodded back, “so you want to be a physical therapist?”

 

Hoseok nodded, “yeah, it’s what I’ve stuck with as the goal for the past couple of years, so that’s what I want to be.” He sighed, “it’s not cheap though, so I’ve had to back out of it for a while.”

 

Kihyun hummed sympathetically, “nothing that’s worth it in life is cheap, unfortunately.” 

 

“True,” Hoseok agreed, “ramen’s pretty good though.”

 

Kihyun laughed, “yeah, okay then, except ramen.” 

 

They laughed together and kept talking. Soon, they were once again talking casually. The awkwardness that had settled before had dissipated. Their food was brought out sooner than Kihyun thought, or maybe the conversation had kept them that busy. 

 

Hoseok had ordered a chicken dish for Kihyun, which left Kihyun pleasantly surprised. “How did you know I really like chicken?” He asked with an eyebrow raised. 

 

“I didn’t,” Hoseok answered, mixing his dish. He had ordered a ramen dish with many different ingredients that made it look exquisite. “I just knew that it was a good dish and thought that you might like it,” Hoseok motioned to it, “eat. Tell me if you like it.” 

 

Kihyun nodded, cutting the chicken and taking a bite out of it. His eyes widened as incredible flavors filled his mouth, “woah, this is amazing.”

 

Hoseok grinned, satisfied. “I knew it,” he snickered to himself and dove into his dish.

 

Kihyun watched him eat. Hoseok nodded after every bite, clearly enjoying his food. Kihyun chuckled, “you really do like ramen, don’t you?” Hoseok nodded. His mouth was still full of food. Kihyun tilted his head, “isn’t that unhealthy? I mean, you’re a trainer. You should already know that.”

 

Hoseok swallowed his food and put a finger on his lips, “hush, once a month or week or day or whatever will not hurt.” 

 

“This makes me wonder what your training and health advice is like,” Kihyun said. 

 

Hoseok shook his head, pouting, “my extreme love for God’s gift to this planet does not reflect on my job, Yoo Kihyun.”

 

Kihyun chuckled, nodding, “alright, but if it’s so good, why didn’t you get me one? I told you to get me the best thing here.” 

 

“The ramen is good here,” Hoseok said, “but you asked for the best thing. I will only take you to the best ramen place for the best ramen.”

 

“Wow, already planning the second date?” Kihyun teased, raising an eyebrow. 

 

Hoseok choked on his food. With his face red, he stuttered out, “I-I mean-”

 

Kihyun laughed. He enjoyed this side that he was slowly discovering from Hoseok. Hoseok liked to be confident and haughty and flirtatious, but that attitude could easily be crushed with a simple action and simple words, possibly when Kihyun did or said something Hoseok did not expect him to say. “I look forward to it,” Kihyun simply with a small smile, going back to his food. 

 

Hoseok did not answer him, but Kihyun imagined him looking at Kihyun with wide eyes and pink cheeks and the mouth in shape of an ‘O’. Kihyun’s insides filled up with something nice. It made his heart speed up pleasantly. Hoseok was cute.

 

They kept eating in silence, and when Kihyun was halfway down with his food (and Hoseok was almost finished done with his food), Hoseok said, “Oh! We need to check what movie we’re gonna see!” He fished out his phone and started navigating through it. Kihyun watched him closing. “What kind of movie do you want to see?” 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “I don’t know - any.”

 

Hoseok nodded. “I’m going to assume you don’t really want an animated one.”

 

“I like animated ones!” Kihyun said, “Studio Ghibli is amazing.”

 

“Wow,” Hoseok looked at him, “I never took you for the animation type.”

 

“Why not?” Kihyun put his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand.

 

Hoseok smiled, sweetly, “I don’t know, but I like it. Alright! I’ll include those movies.” He turned back to his phone. “Hmmm, let’s see what I see here,” Hoseok rubbed his chin, and Kihyun smiled and went back to eating. 

 

Hoseok mentioned movies from different genres. They discussed them together and made fun of summaries that sounded ridiculous. There did not seem to be a movie playing that was relatively interesting. Hoseok sighed, “ah, what do we do?” Kihyun took a while to answer since he did not have one and he was far more interested in looking at Hoseok pout while staring at his phone. When Kihyun opened his mouth to say something, Hoseok started to chuckle. He looked at Kihyun, “let’s just watch the horror movie.”

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened and he let out a small, high, “oh.” Kihyun did not do well with horror movies. He did not like them. “Do we have to?”

 

“Come on. It will be fun. The movie seems shitty, so it will be funny,” Hoseok snickered, “and I'll probably still be scared shitless, so it'll be fun!”

 

Kihyun looked down at his hand holding a pair of chopsticks. It was shaking. Yes, it will be fun. That was exactly what Kihyun was told years ago when he went on his first date with the man Yoongi had fondly named That Motherfucker. Kihyun hated horror movies, but he still went to it because  _ he _ had promised to make the movie fun for him. 

 

Instead,  _ he _ had endlessly made fun of Kihyun every time Kihyun screamed or jumped or yelped and even after that. 

 

Walking out of the theater, that man had called Kihyun degrading insults nonstop and pushing on the side of his head hard enough to make Kihyun trip on his own feet and stumble to the side (earning another different set of insults wrapped up as jokes).  _ He _ thought it was just funny, but it made Kihyun ashamed for being so scared of the movie. 

 

That man had even reassured him that it was going to be okay before they even went to watch the movie. It was similar to what Hoseok was doing right now. It was so similar. Hoseok was so similar to-

 

No, not now. Now was a horrible time for his memories to invade his mind, to remind him of the bittersweetness of his previous relationships. Kihyun wanted to move forward. Why was that so impossible? Why was it that his memories decide to attack him in the middle of a date, instead of at night, where they could deprive him of sleep instead of a good time?

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok. Hoseok smiled.  Hoseok was a kind man, good-looking, thoughtful, sweet. Kihyun frowned.  _ He _ had been a sweet man. Innocent, naive Kihyun thought that he had been a sweet man. It was not long before he turned bitter. It was not long before he wiped the innocence away from Kihyun and left Kihyun with bitter, confusing memories and a twisted version of what love could be. 

 

Kihyun suddenly came to the realization that Hoseok could become a bitter man, a bad man. They were so similar. He could do a one-eighty and remind Kihyun what nightmares were truly made of. 

 

Kihyun was terrified. 

 

He put his utensils on the table, loudly, catching the attention of those around them. Hoseok jumped in surprise. Kihyun looked away. He felt tears stinging his eyes. “I'm sorry, Hoseok,” he barely spoke. His voice sounded broken. “I'm feeling a little sick right now.”

 

Hoseok’s smiled fell from his face, “w-what?”

 

Kihyun shook his head. He was still looking down, “I’m not feeling good right now.” He wanted to get out of here. He was not ready to be here, on this date, with Hoseok. He made a mistake. He rubbed his stomach, “I’m nauseous. I think.” 

 

Hoseok stayed quiet for a few seconds. They felt like hours. Hoseok must be so mad at Kihyun. Kihyun was scared to look up. “Okay,” Hoseok said softly, caringly. There was not a trace of anger there. “Let me get the bill. Do you want a box? You don’t really have leftovers though.” 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, it’s fine.”  _ I just want to get out of here _ . He tentatively looked up.

 

Hoseok looked at him with worry. He nodded, “let me pay the bill quickly.” He called on the waiter to bring them the bill. 

 

They spoke nothing as they waited for the bill. Hoseok only asked Kihyun if he felt like vomiting, which Kihyun denied. When the bill given to Hoseok and the dishes were taken away, Kihyun asked, “how much was mine?”

 

Hoseok shook his head, “nothing, I’m paying.” 

 

Kihyun pouted, “but Hoseok-”

 

Hoseok smiled at him, “I invited you here. I’m paying. Plus…” He looked down. His smile leaving his face again, “I feel guilty.” 

 

Kihyun tilted his head, “why?” 

 

Hoseok looked at him. Kihyun saw him gulp. “Um, the food is probably the reason why you feel nauseous, and I ordered it, so I feel guilty.”

 

“Hoseok, it’s not your fault,” Kihyun said. 

 

Hoseok smiled, standing up, “I’ll pay this quickly, and then I’ll take you home. Is that okay?” 

 

Kihyun nodded. He at least owed Hoseok that. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The bus ride home was similar to the one before. Kihyun rested his head against the window and Hoseok sat next to him in the aisle seat. They were not sharing the earphones. Hoseok was not even listening to music by himself, but he had given Kihyun his jacket in hopes that Kihyun did would get sicker, which Kihyun now wrapped around his front like a blanket. It made Kihyun feel incredibly guilty for pretending to be sick and having ended the date early, for being scared that Hoseok might not be who he presented himself to be. He kept proving Kihyun wrong. Kihyun turned his head to look at Hoseok. Hoseok looked at him through his peripheral vision and smiled. 

 

Kihyun appreciated that. 

 

Kihyun looked back to the outside world and thought of why he broke the date off with Hoseok. The sudden similarities he saw - the similarities that brought fear to his heart and left him shaken at his core. The similarities that brought dark memories to his mind that Kihyun desperately tried to suppress but they always kept resurfacing. Kihyun did not want a sweet memory with Hoseok to turn bitter in the future. He also did not want Hoseok to so soon find out stories about his past, stories that made him who he was and shaped his present steps. 

 

Kihyun would rather stop these new memories with Hoseok now before they became anything serious. Before Kihyun became completely reluctant to let go of Hoseok, before Hoseok became the person he might be hiding, before -

 

Kihyun remembered then.

 

Yes, he had sweet memories with that person (“These hands are so beautiful"), but he forgot how quickly those memories became bitter (“if only they did not have those ugly tattoos on them”). Hoseok - Hoseok had only praised and liked every part of him. He had never been mean in all the time they had been together. 

 

Hoseok was nothing like that man.

 

Kihyun made a mistake tonight. 

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok again, and Hoseok turned to look at him. “Are you feeling a little better than before?” Kihyun nodded, without saying a single word, lost in Hoseok’s caring eyes. Hoseok nodded back and looked away, around the bus, at anywhere but Kihyun (Kihyun assumed), “I think we have a few stops left before yours.” He looked back at Kihyun, “hang on tight, okay, Kihyunnie?” Kihyun nodded again, and Hoseok’s smiled brightened before he turned back again to the front of the bus. 

 

Kihyun felt bold then. He sat straight and shifted closer to Hoseok. If Hoseok noticed, he did not say a word about it. Kihyun sucked a deep breath in. He felt dumb for having to prepare but he still had to. 

 

Slowly, he laid his head of Hoseok’s shoulder. 

 

Kihyun felt Hoseok stiffen for a second but then relax. He had turned his head to an angle to look at Kihyun but Kihyun did not dare move his gaze. He felt like his whole face was red, but he also felt proud of himself. 

 

From his peripheral vision, Kihyun saw Hoseok smile and turn to look back to the front. He gently wrapped his arm around Kihyun’s waist. Kihyun let him. It was comfortable, comforting. 

 

Kihyun felt himself starting to relax again. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The walk back to Kihyun’s home was another uneventful one. Kihyun insisted on giving Hoseok his jacket back for the walk but Hoseok refused, insisting that Kihyun needed it more. Hoseok won the argument and Kihyun walked with the jacket covering his front body. Kihyun could smell a faint scent of cologne in it. He assumed it was Hoseok’s. It was very nice. Maybe Kihyun won instead. 

 

Hoseok walked the few steps to the front door of Kihyun’s building with Kihyun. They turned to look at each other. Hoseok huffed cold air and looked around for a second, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked back at Kihyun, “so this is it then?”

 

Kihyun smiled. Tonight, in general, he did have a pleasant time with Hoseok. “I hope we can finish this later.” 

 

Hoseok’s eyes widened, and he nodded excessively, “yeah, we can.” He grinned, giddily, and then relaxed a little, “Get well soon first though.” 

 

Kihyun chuckled, “don’t get sick then. You walked all this time with minimum protection.” He finished that sentence sternly. 

 

Hoseok laughed. He stepped forward into Kihyun’s space and enveloped Kihyun in a tight hug. “It’s okay,” Hoseok whispered against his ear, sending shivers all over Kihyun’s stiffened body, “your presence is warm enough.” Kihyun blushed. His cheeks were already pink because of the weather, but Hoseok made it worse, could have made them red even. His heartbeat increased again, but Kihyun did not feel scared. 

 

Hoseok pulled away slowly, gently moving his hands over Kihyun’s back to his shoulders up his neck to rest on his cheeks. Hoseok looked at him with such an intense expression. Kihyun could not pinpoint what emotion exactly Hoseok’s eyes were telling him, but it made Kihyun feel warm and soft inside, with butterflies flying around his stomach. Hoseok caressed Kihyun’s right cheek with his thumb. “You are beautiful, Yoo Kihyun,” he said softly. Kihyun let out a small breath, misting the air between them. Hoseok dropped his hands to Kihyun’s shoulders. “You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.” 

 

Kihyun felt his heartbeat behind his ear. His mind cleared of thoughts for one second as his eyes focused only on Hoseok. There was no way he heard wrong. It was only the two of them here in each other’s spaces. Hoseok wanted to kiss him. 

 

Kihyun looked down, away from Hoseok’s captivating eyes. He needed to think this over. He thought of that night back at the parlor, back when he thought that Hoseok was going to kiss him before they were interrupted by Jooheon. Maybe Hoseok really was planning of kissing him back then. Kihyun remembered feeling disappointed that it did not happen. Kihyun took a deep breath and looked at the building across from his. It was quiet and dark.

 

As Kihyun looked to the side, Hoseok slowly slid his hands off Kihyun and stepped back. He sighed and looked down, “I’m sorry. I was out of line. I probably should not have said th-” 

 

“Do it then,” Kihyun looked at Hoseok with intensity and determination.

 

Hoseok looked up at him again, surprised, “what?”

 

Kihyun took a deep breath, “kiss me.”

 

Hoseok hesitantly took a step forward and once again grabbed Kihyun’s face. “Are you sure?” He asked softly.   

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok in the eyes and nodded. Hoseok gave him a small comforting smile. Their height difference was not significant, so Hoseok did not have to lean down to much to kiss him. Not that Kihyun was paying that much attention to those details. The moment Hoseok started to get nearer to him, Kihyun closed his eyes. 

 

The next sensation he felt was Hoseok’s cold lips against him. 

 

And it warmed all of Kihyun’s body. 

 

However, it ended just as quickly as it started, but it felt eternal in the midst of it. Once it was over, Kihyun realized he never even kissed back. 

 

Hoseok traced Kihyun’s bottom lip with his thumb. “Have a good night, Kihyunnie. I hope you get better soon.”

 

Kihyun wanted to pull Hoseok back to him, wanted to show him what a real kiss was, but he knew that he would end up dragging Hoseok with him back to his apartment, do what he was not ready to do, what he would regret doing, so he nodded instead, “I will.”

 

Hoseok pulled away from him, and Kihyun stayed in place. He was not sure what Hoseok was looking at him for, what Hoseok wanted him to do. After a few seconds, Hoseok raised an eyebrow and motioned to the door. Kihyun suddenly realized that Hoseok was waiting for him to go inside. “Ah, right,” he muttered, taking his keys out of his pocket. He went to the front door of the apartment building and opened it.  

 

“I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Hoseok said when Kihyun was half way inside. 

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah, do that.” He paused for a second and looked at Hoseok, “bye, Hoseok.”

 

Hoseok smiled at him, “goodnight, Kihyunnie.” 

 

With that, Kihyun closed the front door to his building and watched Hoseok walk down the front steps and back to the bus stop. Once Hoseok was out of sight, a feeling of giddiness rose inside of Kihyun. He had a bounce to his step as walked to the elevator. Kihyun bit his bottom lip to avoid breaking into a big smile. Kihyun went straight to his room once he got to his apartment. He face planted straight into his bed and covered his head with a pillow, trying to suppress the happy feeling that a threatening to come out. Kihyun was already a grown person. He should not act like that, even if Hoseok was making Kihyun feel like a teenager with his first crush. 

 

Kihyun sighed and turned on his back. He stared at his ceiling. He really felt bad for cutting the date short. He really should not have. He did not know what came over him, but Hoseok did not object to the idea of a second date, which Kihyun was already looking forward to. 

 

Kihyun ran a hand over his arm and felt an unfamiliar yet familiar fabric. When he looked down, he realized that he was still wearing Hoseok’s jacket. A part of him was mad that he forgot to give the jacket back to Hoseok in such a cold night. Another part was happy that he still had a part of Hoseok with him. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kihyunnie... I wonder if what you did will affect something in the future... hey! at least ya'll kissed (or pecked whatever) lol we're getting somewhere! hehe  
> I honestly don't know how to feel about that date. I hope it was not too long and boring or unrealistic or something I don't know lol  
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting and leaving kudos! It is all very much appreciated and loved! I will see you guys next time! Bye-bye!


	6. 6:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh-uh...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooooooooooooo good at summaries, right?

  
  


The bright sun woke Kihyun up. He stretched loudly and opened his eyes. Quickly, his memory of last night came to his mind and Kihyun smiled once again as he rolled to his stomach. He looked at the chair near his bed that was covered in clean laundry that had yet to be put away. Hoseok’s jacket still sat on top of it all. Kihyun had put it there last night. He thought that it would have been weird to sleep with it next to him.    
  


Kihyun had yet to tell Hoseok that he had it. He really should, before he conveniently forgot and never told Hoseok he had it. He grabbed his phone and he saw that he already had a few messages from Hoseok. Kihyun smiled. It was probably his normal goodnight and good morning messages. Kihyun opened the messages happily, but his smile fell when he realized that they were not what Kihyun thought they were. 

 

_ ‘Hey, Kihyun, I am really sorry if I did something that made you uncomfortable last night. I was probably being a dickhead at some point and it won’t stop eating me alive that I must have hurt you, and I honestly feel like if I keep talking or typing or whatever, I will only say more nonsense. So I just want to say… or type… I’m sorry, and if you don’t want to meet again… then I understand’ _

 

Kihyun furrowed his eyebrows. “What is he talking about?” He muttered, “how did he know that I-?” He gasped as he vaguely remembered that old conversation he had with Hoseok months ago. 

 

_ “When I feel really uncomfortable with a situation or something like that, I tend to excuse myself by saying that I’m sick.” _

 

“Oh…” Kihyun nodded to himself in realization. He had not even noticed he had revealed that piece of information. He had said it so calmly and thoughtlessly. He chuckled. Hoseok was right about the whole finding out about a person through favorite customers or whatever he had fully said. Sometimes, Kihyun’s memory failed him by either making him forget everything or remember everything. Kihyun looked at the message again and frowned. It was not Hoseok’s fault at all. It was Kihyun’s mind and Kihyun’s memory and Kihyun’s problems. He was happy Hoseok was able to get him away from those problems. 

 

Kihyun did not want to stop seeing Hoseok. 

 

Impulsively, Kihyun dialed Hoseok’s phone number and placed the phone by his ear. He stared at the ceiling as he heard the phone ring, half wondering what the hell he was doing.

 

Hoseok picked up on the other line, “hello?”

 

“Hello?” Kihyun said back.

 

“Kihyunnie, good morning,” Hoseok said. His voice had suddenly taken a cheerful tone.

 

“Good morning,” Kihyun chuckled. 

 

They stayed quiet for a few seconds, and then Hoseok asked, solemnly, “did you receive my message last night?”

 

Kihyun took a deep breath, “I did… this morning. Hoseok-” He paused for a second, trying to think of the right words but not finding them in time, “it wasn’t you. It’s not you. It’s...” Kihyun gulped. He did not know how to say this without revealing too much. “It’s more me. I shouldn’t have - I had fun with you, Hoseok. I don’t want to stop meeting you.”

 

“You don’t?” Hoseok’s voice was small, soft, full of hope.

 

“Of course not, man,” Kihyun smirked, “we need to finish our date first.” His heart swelled up thinking about their date.  

 

Hoseok laughed. It was hearty and full of relief and Kihyun loved it and he wanted to hear it again. “What a relief,” Hoseok sighed, “I really was ready to apologize for everything right now. Even kissing you, which I really would have hated apologizing for it.”

 

Kihyun chuckled, “no, you should definitely not apologize over that.”

 

Hoseok hummed. They basked in each other’s silence for a few seconds. Kihyun stared at the ceiling and tried to imagine Hoseok lying next to him. “Do you want to go to brunch today with me?” Hoseok asked.

 

Kihyun chuckled, “who the fuck says brunch, dude?”

 

“I do, and it is late morning!” Hoseok defended himself, “so will you?”

 

Kihyun smiled, “of course, Hoseok. Send me the address. I’ll go there, alright?”

 

“Alright,” Hoseok said, and Kihyun imagined him nodding. They said their goodbyes and hung up. 

 

Kihyun felt light. His bed felt like a cloud. Kihyun was floating peacefully. Hoseok now had that effect on him now. Kihyun looked to his side at Hoseok’s jacket. He sighed. Now, he had to return that sooner than he planned. Kihyun frowned. Now, that sucked.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The place they met at was a foreign waffle house. Sweet smells entered Kihyun’s nostrils for the moment he stepped into the establishment. The place was warm and inviting, and it was definitely made better when Kihyun had spotted Hoseok sitting by one of the windows, staring at the outside while looking positively ethereal. 

 

Kihyun felt the butterflies going up his esophagus, and he wondered what it could mean.

 

Hoseok happily greeted him when Kihyun sat across from him, and since the place was relatively empty, the waiter quickly arrived to serve them. 

 

“You look great this morning,” Hoseok said once the waiter left with their drink orders. 

 

“Thank you,” Kihyun smiled at him and then shyly looked down as he took off his jackets and put them over his chair’s back. The restaurant was warm and outside was not even as cold as Kihyun thought it would be. He was almost sweating. “Oh - right,” Kihyun grabbed the first jackets he had on, Hoseok’s jacket. “This… is yours,” Kihyun was reluctant to give it back but he still handed it to Hoseok. “I forgot to give it to you last night. I kept it by accident.”

 

Hoseok chuckled, not taking the jacket, “I know.” He looked at Kihyun, “you looked cute in it. I did not want to ask for it back. Keep a while longer. It gives me an excuse to come see you.” 

 

Hoseok smiled, and Kihyun slowly brought the jacket back to him. “O-Oh,” he could not say that he was not happy that he got to keep the jacket for a while longer. He smiled and looked at Hoseok. Hoseok thought that he looked cute wearing it. “I’ll make sure to wear it often then.” Hoseok grinned at that.

 

And that was how they fell into conversation. 

 

They easily flowed from topic to topic. Any moments of silence were comfortable and pleasant. The topics ranged about what was the best waffle toppings…

 

(“Okay, but chocolate chips make the waffles too sweet,” Hoseok argued.

 

“And fruits don’t?” Kihyun shot back, a little agitated. This conversation had been going on for a little too long.

 

“It’s different,” Hoseok raised his hands. He looked like he was attempting to calm Kihyun down. Kihyun was about to pop a vein. This conversation now had to keep going until it was settled.)

 

To fashion choices…

 

(“Say socks with sandals should be acceptable because they are comfortable one more time, Hoseok, and I swear I will leave this table right now, even if these heavenly waffles just arrived,” Kihyun warned while threatening Hoseok with a fork.)

 

And finally to home life, in a sense.

 

Kihyun would squeal if he had not had food in his mouth. A weird noise still came out though. In his hand, he was holding Hoseok’s phone. A picture of Hoseok’s two bunnies shown from the screen. 

 

“They’re so cute!” Kihyun said after he swallowed and looked at Hoseok and back at the picture and back at Hoseok and so on. There was a bounce to his step. Hoseok had his chin on his hand. He chuckled. “What are their names?” Kihyun asked. “You post about them sometimes on Instagram but I don’t think I have ever seen their names.”

 

Hoseok calmly pointed at his phone, “the golden one is Ramen, and the gray one is Sharp Gun.”

 

Kihyun looked at him with a raised eyebrow. All of his previous excitement was gone. “You really do like ramen, don’t you?”

 

Hoseok nodded, still with the same calmness, “best food in the world.”

 

Kihyun chuckled, shaking his head and turning back to the picture, “and Sharp Gun?”

 

“My roommate named him. That one’s his. Ramen is mine,” Hoseok rolled his eyes, “officially, at least. I like to consider them both mine.”

 

Kihyun snickered and looked back at the bunnies. “Sharp Gun, huh?”

 

“Don’t ask, please,” Hoseok said. Kihyun saw him shaking his head from his peripheral vision.

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok, putting the phone down, “you have a roommate?” 

 

Hoseok nodded. He straightened up on his chair and continued eating, “yes, I do. Gunhee.” He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head, “you’ve met him before. I got my first tattoo with him.” 

 

Kihyun tilted his head, staying quiet for a moment while trying to remember. Yes, he remembered a person. A someone next to Hoseok, in front of Minhyuk, a someone Kihyun never did pay attention to that one time they had met. “Ah, yes, I remember,” he nodded. 

 

“Now, that I have told you?” Hoseok raised an eyebrow.

 

Kihyun raised an eyebrow, internally questioning why Hoseok asked that. “Yeah,” he nodded and put a piece of waffle in his mouth.

 

“Understandable,” Hoseok ran a hand through his hair and Kihyun had to stop himself from staring. “People tend to pay a lot of attention to me.” 

 

Kihyun scoffed and almost choked on his waffle. Hoseok laughed at him and then asked him if he was okay. Kihyun waved him off and said, “I had to tattoo you. Of course, I paid more attention to you than your friend. If I messed up, it would fall on Minhyuk’s ass.”  _ And sure, you extremely distracting, but that is beside the point. _

 

Hoseok laughed, nodding, “I know.” 

 

Kihyun sighed, rolling his eyes, “he likes the tattoo, right? Minhyuk didn’t mess anything up?” Kihyun would love to tease Minhyuk about it, if he could. 

 

Hoseok nodded, “he likes it. He would love to come back for another one to The X Parlour, but he can’t afford it.”

 

Kihyun nodded in agreement, “we are expensive, but we’re extremely good at what we do. How are you able to afford it?”

 

“I made a fund a long time ago for my tattoos. I never thought I would use it all on your shop, but I did,” Hoseok chuckled, “I had to ask you out because I ran out of money.” 

 

“Is that why you asked me out?” Kihyun raised a brow, “what does that even mean?” 

 

“It means that I would’ve had to stop seeing you soon because I didn’t have the balls to ask you out until I was phased with an ultimatum,” Hoseok looked at Kihyun, “a big reason I came to The X Parlour is because of you, for you, for who you are, for how you present as. From the moment I saw you, I thought you-” He paused for a second and looked away towards the window. Kihyun saw the blush on Hoseok’s cheeks and he definitely knew his cheeks were the same. “I just knew I had to keep coming back to see you.”

 

Kihyun looked down at his waffle. It was almost gone. “I’m glad you kept coming back,” he said softly. 

 

The rest of breakfast was spent in a blissful silence with shy stares and quiet giggles. By the end, they argued about how the bill was going to be paid. Hoseok wanted to pay, but Kihyun would not let him pay for his own meal. In the end, they split the bill, and Kihyun felt victorious. 

 

They stood outside of the shop. The sun shone brightly, so the cold was bearable. Kihyun turned to look at Hoseok, “are you doing anything later?”

 

Hoseok nodded, “I work soon, so I’m going to have to get going.” He turned to Kihyun, smiling softly. “I had fun, Kihyunnie. Thank you for coming at such short notice.”

 

Kihyun shook his head, “thank you for inviting me.”

 

They looked at each other and Kihyun wondered if Hoseok was going to kiss him again. Kihyun wanted Hoseok to kiss him again. Hoseok came forward and gave Kihyun a tight hug. “Let’s meet again soon, alright Kihyunnie?” Hoseok whispered against Kihyun’s ear. 

 

Kihyun felt his skin shiver and he nodded, “definitely.” 

 

As Hoseok pulled back, he kissed Kihyun’s cheek. It caught Kihyun off guard, but he was not mad. It made his heart flutter. Hoseok grabbed Kihyun’s hand, “I’ll walk you to the bus if you want.” 

 

Kihyun looked at Hoseok’s eyes and nodded. “I want that,” his voice was smaller than he would have liked.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun had a bounce to his step as he entered work the next day. The day was sunny and clear and chilly. The streets were not wet. Locals and tourists were walking around looking at the shops and entering restaurants, and Kihyun still had Hoseok’s tan jacket on. 

 

It was already three in the afternoon, meaning that he was late for work, very late, but it was okay because Kihyun had already told Hyunwoo that he would appear near to his first appointment at around four, so technically, he was early. Hyunwoo had been okay with it. 

 

The front doorbell rang, signaling his entrance. The few clients waiting for their appointments briefly looked at him. Changkyun, who was cleaning the shelves, was the first one to say something about his appearance in the parlor.

 

“Look who finally showed up!” Changkyun yelled from the back of the main room. “I’m supposed to spend the whole day with you. If I had known that you were going to show up later, I would’ve, too.” He pouted, but he was not really angry, just sulky. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, walking past the dividers into the tattooing area. “Do they have you doing all the chores?” 

 

Changkyun nodded, pouting. Kihyun smiled. Changkyun reminded him of a puppy at that moment. Changkyun’s face suddenly changed when Kihyun neared him. His pout turned into a concerned frown. “Are you okay by the way?” he whispered to Kihyun once Kihyun was within hearing distance. 

 

Kihyun tilted his head, “what do you mean? Of course, I’m fine.” 

 

Changkyun looked at Jooheon, who had been quietly tattooing from his station. Kihyun assumed he must be tattooing a very intricate and difficult tattoo, considering that he had not even bother greeting Kihyun. He did bother glancing up at Changkyun for a second. 

 

Changkyun shook his head, “nothing.”

 

Kihyun knitted his eyebrows, but he did not push any further. “Okay, then,” he said and stared at the hallway, “I will get everything ready for the first appointment.” He looked back at Changkyun, “I’ll call you when I need you.” 

 

“Okay,” Changkyun nodded and turned around to keep cleaning the shelves. Kihyun started walking away into the hallway. “Wait,” Changkyun called out to him, and Kihyun stopped and looked at him, “nice jacket. Where’d you get it?”

 

Kihyun smiled, pulling on the jacket’s opening, “thanks, I borrowed it.” He left before Changkyun could ask any more questions. He did not need to reveal the identity of the lender. That would make Hell break loose in the parlor. 

 

Kihyun walked to his room and like he said he would, started working on what he needed for his first client. It was not hard to get ready. He knew it would not take him long. He could finish getting ready in ten minutes and then spend the rest of his time working on tattoo designs for other clients or texting Hoseok or both. 

 

When he was halfway done, Kihyun heard a knock on the door. He turned to find Hyunwoo to be that one who was knocking. “Hey,” he greeted with the single wave of a hand.

 

“Hey,” Kihyun said and straightened up to fully face Hyunwoo, “I was gonna greet you earlier but you were tattooing and I didn't want to bother you.”

 

Hyunwoo nodded, leaning against the doorframe momentarily, “that's fine.” He straightened up quickly and crossed his arms, “I just have something to ask you right now.” He was looking down, thinking.

 

“What is it?” Kihyun raised a brow. He put his hands in his pockets.

 

Hyunwoo raised his head a little to look at Kihyun, “did something happen between you and Minhyuk this weekend?”

 

Kihyun narrowed his eyes in absolute confusion, “what?”

 

Hyunwoo did a face that told Kihyun that he did not know and half shrugged, “he came in extremely sulky. He's been having that attitude he normally gets with you since we opened.” Kihyun rolled his eyes. Minhyuk acted so childishly when Kihyun was around. “We're all thinking that something happened.”

 

“Nothing happened between us,” Kihyun exasperated, shaking his head and crossing his arms, “I didn't see him all weekend.”

 

Hyunwoo nodded, “alright. I just needed to ask. Not just for the business, but because you two are my friends.”

 

Kihyun nodded. He smiled, “I know.”

 

Hyunwoo nodded, tapping the doorframe, “okay, just wanted to ask.” He took a deep breath and Kihyun could tell that he was trying to be a more emotional, deep, open friend. “If you ever need anything or if you need to get anything off your chest, don't be afraid to ask or to come to me.”

 

Kihyun let out a small snicker. “I know,” he nodded. “I'll let you know.”

 

Hyunwoo nodded and left. 

 

Kihyun frowned. He had no clue what Minhyuk could be mad about and it bothered him. He wondered if it was something he could help with. 

 

Kihyun shook his head. No, it should not be any of his business anyway. Minhyuk would not accept his concern, not as a friend at least. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Do you have any idea what could be up with Minhyuk?” Kihyun asked Changkyun. Kihyun had him wiping down the tattoo chair since the client was already here and the appointment was starting in less than ten minutes.

 

Changkyun shook his head, “no.” 

 

Kihyun sighed, “Hyunwoo came by to ask me if we had fought, which we haven’t in a long time, so I don’t know what could be wrong.”

 

“We all thought you were fighting again,” Changkyun admitted. He sighed, “I guess it’s a relief that it’s not because of you.” 

 

Kihyun laughed, tried to at least. He saw Changkyun’s last statement a little differently. It was a shame that Kihyun and Minhyuk had fought enough to make people assume that was the reason why one of them was sulky. Kihyun sighed, “I wonder what’s wrong.” 

 

Changkyun looked at him, “you’re worried, huh?” 

 

“Of course, I am. Why would I not be?” Kihyun frowned. 

 

Changkyun looked at him for a few more seconds and then shrugged before turning back to finish his cleaning duties. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


As Changkyun processed the billing for the tattoo, Kihyun reiterated the tattoo caring instructions to the client once again. It was her first time getting a tattoo and Kihyun always felt the extra need to make sure that his clients understood what it took to take care of a tattoo. 

 

“And there we have it,” Kihyun nodded, putting his hands together on the front counter. “You remember all of that?”

 

The client nodded vigorously. Her hand kept twirling her shirt’s strap that was right in front of her tattoo. Her tattoo was big, expanding from her shoulder blade to her collarbone to the middle of her chest right above her breast. It was only the line work for now, but when it was done, she will have big, dark wine roses surrounded by lavender and baby’s breath. She looked at her tattoo, “it’s already so good. I can’t wait until we color it.” 

 

Kihyun gave her a half smile as Changkyun stepped in to give the client her credit card back. Kihyun could not wait for her to leave. He had more important matters to press to, like staring at Minhyuk while wondering if he should walk up to him and ask him what was wrong. Minhyuk had been in his private room when Kihyun had arrived, but he was out right now, and he looked visibly upset, and it was not the normal childish pout he wanted Kihyun to see every time Kihyun showed up. It was a deep frown. One that should not be there considering Minhyuk was currently tattooing Hyungwon and Hyungwon always seemed to cheer Minhyuk up. Hyungwon was quiet now, not bothering to have the usual banter he had with Minhyuk. 

 

“Have a nice rest of the day,” Changkyun told the customer as she grabbed her credit card. 

 

“You, too,” she nodded, “I’ll be sure to be early for my next appointment. I am already excited for it!” She waved at both Kihyun and Changkyun and left the parlor. 

 

Kihyun looked at Changkyun, “when’s our next appointment?” 

 

“Um,” Changkyun went to the computer to look, “in thirty minutes.”

 

“Okay,” Kihyun turned and leaned against the counter. He stared at Minhyuk’s booth, where it looked like he was giving Hyungwon as small finger tattoo. 

 

They were going to be done soon. Maybe before Kihyun’s next appointment. Maybe Kihyun had enough time to talk to Minhyuk. If he grew the balls to. Kihyun breathed in deeply.

 

Hyungwon noticed him staring. He raised his free hand and waved, “hey!”

 

Kihyun smiled, “hey, Hyungwon, what’s up?” 

 

“Nothing much. Nothing much,” Hyungwon cleared his throat and suddenly winced when Minhyuk tattooed over a particularly sensitive part. He cleared his throat again and looked around, “now that you’re all here.” Kihyun glanced at Jooheon and Hyunwoo, who were tattooing in their own booths and had stopped for a second to look at Hyungwon. “I was thinking that we should all meet up in Hongdae next weekend, on Saturday.”

 

“Oooh,” Jooheon let out with anticipation. 

 

Hyungwon nodded, humming. He had a smile on his face and his eyes closed. “I got a gig at a very prestigious club over there and I’m pretty sure I can sneak you into the VIP list,” he said haughtily. 

 

“Sounds fun,” Jooheon smirked. 

 

“I close the shop early on Saturday,” Hyunwoo said, “I can go.”

 

Kihyun opened the shop late on Sunday, and he did not have any intricate works scheduled for Sunday, so it was okay if he was a little sleep deprived. He would hopefully not be hungover though.

 

“You should already know my answer,” Jooheon snickered as he got back to work. 

 

“I hope I’m invited,” Changkyun said. There was a joking tone somewhere in there, but he also sounded a little serious. Being in the shop for less than a year, Changkyun was not as close to Hyungwon as the others were, but he was getting there. 

 

“Of course you are, Changkyun,” Hyungwon smiled, and Changkyun grinned. Kihyun smiled for Changkyun. It was nice watching him get adjusted to the place and the people here, especially since he was so shy and introverted at the beginning. 

 

“It’d be nice to have us all go,” Minhyuk started. He was monotone, as excited as a pile of bricks. Everyone quieted down to listen to him. Minhyuk always tended to be the most excited one when it came to group outings, “but who knows if we can all go?” He sighed dramatically.

 

Hyungwon looked at him with a frown, “do you already have plans?” 

 

Kihyun tilted his head. If Minhyuk did, then the whole thing would be called off and rescheduled. Kihyun wondered if those plans were the cause of Minhyuk’s bad mood. 

 

“No,” Minhyuk shook his head. He focused on the finger he was tattooing, “but maybe Kihyun does.”

 

Kihyun narrowed his eyes, “what?”

 

Minhyuk straightened up and almost slammed the tattoo machine down on the table next to him. He took his gloves off quickly and ran a hand through his hair. He looked angry, like Kihyun had said something that finally set him off. “Oh, like you don’t know?” Minhyuk turned and glared at Kihyun, “who knows? Maybe you had plans to make out with your boyfriend again.” 

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened. Minhyuk saw. “What?!”

 

Kihyun heard the “wait, hold up, what”’s from his coworkers but he chose to ignore them. They were not important right now. 

 

“Don’t you what me!” Minhyuk yelled, “I saw you! Right in front of my apartment! How did you think I would not see?!”

 

Kihyun bit his bottom lip.  _ I looked. Your light was off. I thought you weren’t there. I didn’t want you to see. _ He shook his head, “so?! It’s not like it’s any of your business what I do!”

 

“It is when I can see it so clearly!” Minhyuk was heated. From the very beginning, he was using hand motions. 

 

All the others seemed too shocked to intervene. 

 

“I was in front of my apartment building, minding my own damn business! It had nothing to do with you!” Kihyun yelled. Changkyun put a hand on his shoulder. Kihyun shook it off. “Why are you so concerned?!”

 

“You should know me quite well to know why I seem to care so much,” Minhyuk narrowed his eyes. 

 

“And you know quite well that it doesn’t matter anymore. You need to stop behaving this way!” Kihyun wanted to rip the hairs out of his head. He felt the topic of this conversation or argument really broaden. 

 

Minhyuk stayed quiet for a second. Kihyun watched as Minhyuk balled his fists and relaxed them. “It’s like you don’t care anymore,” he muttered. Kihyun barely heard him. 

 

“I do care,” Kihyun said back, “I care more than I fucking should and that’s why this is all so fucking annoying.”

 

Minhyuk rolled his eyes, “yeah, right, just go make out with your boyfriend instead then.” 

 

Kihyun frowned, “he’s not my boyfriend.”

 

Minhyuk raised a brow and crossed his arms, “really? So now you go make out with clients then? That’s real nice, Yoo Kihyun. I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised.” He looked down to the side. “Seems like something you would do. Wonder what you're using him for...” he muttered, slowly turning back to Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened and his mouth fell. He could not believe his ears. He did not hear right. He prayed he did not hear right. 

 

“Hey, Lee Minhyuk!” Hyunwoo finally cut it. Everyone turned to look at him. Everyone except Kihyun and Minhyuk, who stared at each other so intensely as if the rest of the world was black and gone. 

 

It was possible that Hyunwoo was going to continue with his statement, but Kihyun interrupted him before he could. “How could you say that, Minhyuk?” Kihyun asked. His voice was soft and weak. All the anger he held had vanished. It was replaced by betrayal and hurt. 

 

Minhyuk’s hard stare softened, and his face washed with realization. 

 

Kihyun had trusted Minhyuk with half of his story, half of his past, the past that was not as bad as the other half, but could always lead to the other half, and Kihyun was being attacked by his inner demons right now. Minhyuk’s words clashed against the walls of his mind, vibrating through the space with every clash. With every clash, the tone was different. Disgust. Anger. Hatred. Disappointment. Betrayal. The voice then changed and became different words altogether. Phrases he had heard in his relationship previous to Minhyuk that carried the same meaning as Minhyuk’s words did just now, but that had left him even more scared. 

 

“Kihyun, wait, I’m sorry,” Minhyuk suddenly apologized. His tone changed instantly to one of regret. 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, you’re fucking not.” Kihyun was not sure if he was saying that to Minhyuk or to the person Minhyuk was reminding him of. 

 

Everyone stayed quiet. If a pin was dropped in the store next to theirs, it would be heard there. “Kihyun, I’m so sorry. I-” Minhyuk paused for a second, “Please, I love you, Kihyun.”

 

“And you think that’s gonna change anything? You're a fucking asshole, Lee Minhyuk. I don’t love you back, and that’s final!” Kihyun felt like he was being suffocated in that instant, like he was sinking and the world around him was becoming distorted. He could not be here anymore. “I need to leave,” he pushed himself off the counter and started walking back to his room. 

 

“Kihyun, wait,” Hyunwoo cut in again, more softly, like he was approaching a wounded animal. He could have been. 

 

Kihyun raised his hand to stop him from talking. “I need to leave,” he repeated. He turned around to face Changkyun, “cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. Reschedule them. Offer them simple nice things if you have to.” He turned to face Hyunwoo, “I’ll make up for it somehow but I really can’t be here right now.”

 

Hyunwoo gulped but he nodded. Minhyuk was not saying anything. 

 

Kihyun walked to his room and grabbed all of his belongings. He considered leaving Hoseok’s jacket behind, but it did not feel right to leave it abandoned here for the day, so he put it on and held it tightly because his heart constricted painfully at that moment. He felt ready to cry. 

 

He did not, and once everything was secured, he left. The scene at the front of the shop was almost the same as he had left it. As he opened the front door to finally leave, Kihyun heard Jooheon yell, “look what you finally fucking did, Lee Minhyuk!”

 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Tell Lee Minhyuk that he can suck on my fucking dick,” Yoongi said through the phone after Kihyun told him everything that happened. 

 

Kihyun chuckled. He stared at the cloud that was currently covering the sun. It was a nice day outside. It was too bad he felt like shit, but lying on a concrete bench and staring at the sky was a little therapeutic. 

 

“Hell, I’ll go over there right now,” Yoongi continued. “Three hours. I’ll be there. Two and a half if I go a little faster. One hour. I’ll tell Seokjin to let me borrow his car. I’ll steal it otherwise.”

 

Kihyun laughed, “no, Yoongi, you have a class soon.”

 

“So? They can handle themselves, but it seems like Lee Minhyuk fucking can’t,” Yoongi said. “What an asshole thing to say. I can’t believe it.”

 

“He-” Kihyun was cut off.

 

“And don’t go around defending him now, because I know that’s exactly what you are going to do,” Yoongi said. “Don’t say he didn’t mean it or that it was in the heat of the moment, because he said it, and if he said it, he meant it somewhere on the inside,” Yoongi lectured. “You trusted him with vulnerable information long ago and he used against you. Again! And now in front of everyone. That’s messed up. Sure, it was a little coded, but it still hurt you and that was his goal.” 

 

Kihyun sighed. He felt defeated. “I don’t know what to do, Yoongi,” his voice was small. 

 

Yoongi was quiet. Kihyun imagined him frowning. “You can’t go asking me for advice I don’t have.” 

 

The cloud was leaving the sun. Kihyun squinted his eyes. “I know. I just need to think,” he said.

 

“I would tell you it’s better to simply get out of the situation, but that’s not what you want to hear,” Yoongi said. 

 

“Yup,” Kihyun nodded, “I can’t do that. My whole career is in that shop and everyone that comes through its doors. That includes Minhyuk.”

 

Yoongi sighed audibly, “you’re stubborn.” Kihyun almost wanted to smirk, but he did not know why. “I want to keep talking to you, Kihyun, but I really do have a class now, and I can’t keep them waiting.”

 

“Is it the grand orchestra?” Kihyun asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Yoongi answered.

 

“Can I listen to them? They always sound nice,” Kihyun looked away from the sun when the cloud fully left. Maybe listening to classical music would calm him down. 

 

“They’re rehearsing for the end of the year concert. You said you were coming, right? You better be. I fought a kid for that extra ticket. You want to get spoiled?” Yoongi asked.

 

Kihyun smiled and nodded as if Yoongi could see him, “yeah, I am, and I do. I need it.”

 

“Okay then. Make sure to mute the call so that they can’t hear you. I know you, and I know that you’re bound to make one comment or another,” Yoongi said. 

 

Kihyun snickered, “alright.” He took his headphones out of his pocket and put them on, connecting it to his phone.

 

“Okay, I’m at the door, so I’ll say bye to you. Listen well,” Yoongi said. 

 

“I will. Bye, Yoongi,” Kihyun grabbed the phone and muted the call. He put the phone to his chest and placed his hands behind his neck, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to relax. 

 

Through his headphone, Kihyun could hear a bunch of students chattering. Their chatter slowly diminished until it was quiet. Kihyun imagined that must have happened because they noticed Yoongi entering the room. Yoongi did say that the grand orchestra students had immense respect for him and would always be quiet at the beginning of class, ready to start practicing. 

 

Yoongi greeted his students and went over the plan of the class today, and Kihyun chuckled. Yoongi always picked up a professional voice whenever he was with his students. Kihyun felt so many comments at the tip of his tongue and he understood why Yoongi told him to mute. 

 

After a few minutes of warming up, the students finally started playing a song and Kihyun once again knew why they were the Grand Orchestra. From the getgo, their tune grabbed you and lifted you up and took all the air out of you but in a way that helped you relax. Kihyun felt his heartbeat lessen to a more normal beat. A smile rested upon his lips, because that group of students played like that not only because of their talent, but because of their teacher, Yoongi, his best friend. 

 

The last thing Kihyun remembered hearing before falling asleep was the melodious flutes in their solo. It made his raging mind a still ocean, where Minhyuk was only but a drop.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Kihyun came back around, it was dark. Being winter, night fell early, so Kihyun did not really know what time it was. Kihyun grabbed his phone and looked at the time. It was late. The shop closed soon. Was Kihyun that emotionally exhausted that he slept that long? It felt so common now that Kihyun could not tell. 

 

He woke up fine, better, a little numb but okay, emotionally at least. He was in pain physically. Sleeping on a bench was not easy. His back hurt. Kihyun noted that he was getting old. 

 

Kihyun felt bad for leaving the shop, but he was not ready to return, and he was not ready to go home. He did not know what to do. Yoongi left him a message. _ Contact me when you wake up or finish doing whatever left you unresponsive. _ Kihyun did not feel like it. He sat up and sighed. Hoseok left him a message, too. Kihyun did not bother opening it yet either. Looking at the skies, Kihyun frowned at the lack of stars. 

 

Kihyun decided to stay where he was for a little more time. It was quiet at this time of night. It felt like he was in a bubble, protected from the world. He was not ready to face reality yet. 

 

Kihyun looked at his phone again. Foolishly double checking if Minhyuk had messaged him. A terrible force of habit.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun walked back to the tattoo parlor slowly. He did feel bad over leaving earlier. He wanted to make up for it. He was supposed to close tonight. That job must have fallen on one of the other guys. Kihyun wanted to go back and apologize and help. It should not be too hard. Unless Minhyuk was the one who stayed behind, then Kihyun would keep walking until he reached his home. 

 

The parlor’s front had big windows that showed to the inside. During the day, many people would occasionally stop by the window panels and peer inside in hopes of seeing the artists tattoo. The booths were too far away from the window to see any of the tattoos though. Kihyun knew because he used to be one of those people. 

 

The warm lights of the parlor were still on. When Kihyun looked, he saw a lonely Changkyun sweeping the floors with his black, cheap looking headphones on. Hyunwoo would never let the apprentice alone in the shop (he never let Kihyun alone) so there must be someone else in there with Changkyun. Hopefully, Hyunwoo himself. Hopefully not Minhyuk.

 

Kihyun took a deep breath and knocked on the window panel. The sigh at the door read CLOSE. When that sign was up, the door was closed, so Kihyun could only knock. He knocked again once he saw that Changkyun had not responded. After three more sets of knocks, Changkyun finally raised his head, annoyed, to look at Kihyun. His eyes widened. He let the broom fall on the floor and quickly went to open the door.

 

“I knew you would come back,” Changkyun greeted him with as Kihyun stepped through the door. 

 

“Did you really?” Kihyun said it to keep the conversation going, stalling the apology. It felt strange being back here this late, but it would feel stranger to come back tomorrow as if nothing had happened. 

 

“Really,” Changkyun nodded, locking the front door. “All your clients were pissed that you canceled. I told them you were sick and some were a little more understanding.”

 

Kihyun hummed, “thank you for that. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Could that also work as the actual apology? Kihyun did not want to say it twice. 

 

Changkyun shook his head, “don’t be.” Changkyun chuckled, “Hyunwoo made Minhyuk apologize to all the clients with presents, and Minhyuk… seemed apologetic for the rest of the day.” 

 

Kihyun gulped. His hands turned into fists. He was not ready to talk about Minhyuk just yet. “I came back to help whoever is here clean up since I was the one who was supposed to lock up.” 

 

Changkyun sighed. He handed Kihyun the keys. “Just me tonight,” he said as he went grab the broom. 

 

“Really?” Kihyun watched him with a raised eyebrow. “Hyunwoo let you be alone?”

 

“I begged the hell out of him to let me be here alone to wait for you. I had to convince him that you would come back,” Changkyun walked to Kihyun with the broom. “Here,” he handed Kihyun the broom, “you can finish sweeping. I’ll wipe the chairs.” 

 

Kihyun looked at the broom. “Why? Why were you so sure I was coming back?” He looked at Changkyun.

 

Changkyun walked to the tubs he had set in the back of the room. He grabbed a wet towelette from one of them. Kihyun assumed that it was soaked with disinfectant. “I wasn’t,” Changkyun walked to the tattooing chair nearest to him and started wiping it down. “I just needed to talk to you in private.”

 

Kihyun started sweeping. It was calculated, slow, nervous sweeps. “What about?”

 

Changkyun stopped wiping and looked at Kihyun, “you and Minhyuk.”

 

Kihyun stopped and looked at him back, “Changkyun, I-”

 

“I wasn’t here when you two were together,” Changkyun went back to wiping the booth. “You guys had already broken up, but I remember seeing you guys together once when I went to get a tattoo here long ago. You guys were cute. It was during the process of me figuring out where I wanted to do my apprenticeship and if I wanted to do it in the first place. I thought this was a pleasant place with great people and amazing artists. You guys were the ones that helped me make my mind up.” Changkyun glanced at him, “what happened?”

 

Kihyun sighed, “Changkyun, look-”

 

“I honestly feel like you have that mother tone of ‘sometimes some relationships just don’t work out,’ but don’t hit me with that right now,” Changkyun glared at Kihyun. “You know I like to people watch and I have watched the hell out of the two of you and wow,” he scoffed, shaking his head, “it’s so obvious there was something between you two in the past. Something that you are still not over.”

 

There was a silence. Kihyun did not know how to answer to that. 

 

Changkyun sighed and looked down. “I’ve noticed… You guys are always in this orbit around each other even though you barely talk to each other,” he raised his head to look up at the ceiling. He used hand motions as if that would help Kihyun understand what he was trying to say. Kihyun did not, might not. “Why… why haven't you tried to get back with him when you obviously still care? You both still give me the impression that there’s still something deeper there.” 

 

Kihyun sighed. It was Changkyun who did not understand. “Changkyun, you don’t understand,” he said softly, drumming his fingers on the stick of the wood. “I can’t get back with Minhyuk. I really can’t,” Kihyun felt his eyes sting, so many different emotions and memories washing over him at the same time. 

 

“Why?” Changkyun asked, softly. Kihyun barely heard him. 

 

Kihyun looked away. Fragments of memories came back again. The kitchen light was on. Kihyun and Minhyuk at opposite sides of the apartment. Screaming. So much screaming. Kihyun would not remember what of. He grabbed something ceramic. He could not remember what. He threw it. It hit the wall right beside Minhyuk. Complete silence afterward. 

 

Kihyun gulped. “We’ll end up destroying each other,” he felt a whimper ready to come out. He had never told this to anyone. It was long overdue. “Those last few months we had together, they were so volatile. It took every cell in my body to not actually hit him with my bare hands during our last fight… and it took every cell in my body not to return to him the next day.” He let out a breath, “I don’t want to be with him. I know I should not be with him. We are not right for each other. I doubt we ever were.” 

 

Silence filled the air. All Kihyun could hear was his own heartbeat. Actually admitting that was… liberating.

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Changkyun broke the silence. “I should’ve thought of that. Sorry…” 

 

Kihyun looked at him and smiled. “You acted on what you knew. You’re fine. You’ve… helped me say things I should’ve said a long time ago. Thanks.” 

 

Changkyun gave Kihyun a half smile. He looked at the chair next to him and tossed to towelette into the air. He looked in deep thought. Kihyun assumed the conversation was over, so he started sweeping again. This time, more calmly and naturally. 

 

“Wonho.”

 

Kihyun paused again. 

 

“Or whatever his actual name is - Hosung?”

 

Why was Changkyun bringing him up? “Hoseok,” Kihyun answered tentatively.

 

“Ah, him!” Changkyun said brightly. “Do you… like him?” 

 

Kihyun looked at Changkyun, “why do you ask?”

 

“I just,” Changkyun looked around, as if he was trying to avoid Kihyun’s gaze. “We assumed that’s who Minhyuk was talking about when he said boyfriend so we thought-”

 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Kihyun shook his head. He went back to sweeping, harder than before. 

 

“He’s not…” Changkyun repeated, “did you guys actually kiss or is Minhyuk making up bullshit?”

 

Kihyun sighed, stomping the broom down. His body had been rigid, but he relaxed at that moment. “We did…” he admitted, “but it wasn’t what Minhyuk made it out to be.” He frowned, feeling the ghost of Hoseok’s lips on him. The feeling faded away the moment he imagined Minhyuk peering out his window at him. 

 

“Wow, how’d that happen?” Changkyun asked, genuinely curious.

 

Kihyun momentarily thought that it was not Changkyun’s business, but then he thought that it would not hurt anyone to tell. “He asked me out on a date a while ago. It happened this weekend. When he brought me home, he asked me if he could kiss me, and I said yes. It was a basic kiss, nothing more,” Kihyun could hear the disappointment in his voice and he was sure Changkyun would make fun of him for it. “Minhyuk’s apartment lights were off, so I thought he was asleep. I never imagined he would see.”

 

Changkyun did not mention Kihyun’s disappointment. Instead, he repeated his first question, “do you like him, Kihyun?”

 

Kihyun sighed as he thought of Hoseok’s bright smile, of the way he held Kihyun’s hand, of the way he tried to flirt, of the concern in his eyes, of the jacket that currently wrapped around Kihyun’s torso, of the flutters Kihyun felt at the very thought of him. Kihyun gulped, “I might.”

 

Kihyun felt Changkyun walk to him. Changkyun placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “then get your shit with Minhyuk solved.” He moved Kihyun to the waiting area and they sat down next to each other in one of the booths. 

 

Kihyun shook head, “it’s not my fault he still likes me. We’ve been over for quite some time now.” He scoffed, shaking his head. He still could not believe the stunt Minhyuk pulled earlier.

 

“Minhyuk once told me you two never really broke up. I think he’s still holding up to that irrational thought that just maybe, there’s a chance to be with you again,” Changkyun said.

 

That was true. They never really cleanly broke it off. Kihyun walked out of Minhyuk’s apartment without a single word that day, and he never returned. “He should get the memo already,” Kihyun muttered.

 

“He’s irrationally in love with you, Kihyun. He won’t hear it from anyone else. Do you have any idea how much he talks about you when you’re not around? All his clients must be tired of it. I’m tired of it! I don’t know how Hyungwon handles it,” Changkyun chuckled, shaking his head, “Hyungwon’s in way too deep. Sad.” He cleared his throat, “seriously though. You two need to move on, and I think it’s best to do it with a clean cut.”

 

Kihyun frowned. He felt his lips twitching. He shook his head, “I don’t know how.”

 

Changkyun brought him into a hug, “that’s okay. You’ll figure it out soon.”

 

Kihyun rested his head on Changkyun’s shoulder and held him tightly. He was not so sure about that. 

 

“Really, you can do it. I know you can,” Changkyun continued. Kihyun hummed, just because, hoping Changkyun would drop the subject. Changkyun let him go and turned to Kihyun. “I know I have a long way to go, but I already know what I want my tattoo present when I finish my apprenticeship to be,” he said.

 

Kihyun looked at him. Tattoo presents were something this shop did to apprentice that got their certification. They were able to get a tattoo from all the artists that work there. “What is it?”

 

“I hope you don’t mind, but I do admire your work a lot, and I think it’s inspirational how far you’ve gone in such little time,” he raised the sleeve of his left arm and covered the blank space below his elbow joint. “I want something similar to your fox, but instead of a fox, a wolf. I do like wolves more,” he chuckled and looked down. His pink cheeks showed that he was a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and looked back at Kihyun. “I want you to do half of it in your style, geometrically, but I want the other half to be done by Minhyuk, his more realistic slash fantasy style since I really like his style, and it was you and him that really made me decide to apply here and I can’t thank you guys enough, but…” He sighed and looked down, “sometimes, I think that it would be too much to ask for that tattoo…”

 

Kihyun frowned. He hated that Changkyun felt that. He put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. Changkyun looked at him. Softly, Kihyun said, “that sounds like a wonderful idea, Changkyunnie” He gulped and looked away, “I will… I will try to fix things with Minhyuk.”

 

Kihyun still did not know how.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Later that night, Kihyun laid quietly in bed. He could not sleep. Darkness was interrupted by the faint light of the city. Kihyun could see the silhouettes of things. Slowly, he raised his left hand. 

 

A black band was tattooed on Kihyun's ring finger, a little above the middle of the finger, below his last joint. It was plain and simple. Many people thought it was there just for aesthetic reasons, but it was supposed to mean so much. 

 

Minhyuk had the same band.

 

It was strange. Kihyun should have known better, but a little bit of alcohol and a promise of forever from Kihyun's longest relationship caused him to believe that yes, this was the right thing to do. 

 

Now, it was with him forever. The memory of Minhyuk was burned and inked into his skin. In his arms, in his torse, in his legs, in his back, in his ring finger. Kihyun was too reluctant to cover it up. It was with him forever, so Kihyun believed that he should just suck it up and live with it, but it was dragging him down. 

 

Kihyun did not know what to do.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm kinda wanna write nothing here and end it like that, so I might just do that - ish, since I am writing something here
> 
> A LOOK INTO A FUTURE:  
> next chapter might be my fave uwu
> 
> Idk when I'll post it (either later this week, earlier next week, or late next week) bc a week from now, I'll be jamming to MX live and I CANNOT wait. I'm so excited y'all. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos and just simply the reads! I love and appreciate everything and I makes me so happy to know that there are people that love this story as much as I do if not more lol


	7. 7:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dates! uwu

  
  
  
  


Hoseok was too sweet. He was too sweet and too nice, and Kihyun could not get enough of him, which was no surprise with how often they went out. Weekday mornings were easy to coordinate a meetup, so they tried often to meet for breakfast. Once, they met four days in a week just to eat breakfast together. They always ate at different restaurants. Sometimes, Hoseok made the suggestion and sometimes Kihyun did. 

 

They finally had their movie date. They watched a comedy that left Hoseok rolling out of his seat in laughter and Kihyun realizing pleasantly that they had a similar sense of humor. 

 

Their second kiss was much better than their first. It left Kihyun floating a cloud of sweet pink and blue cotton candy for the rest of the night. It was under an outdoor roof when they had been escaping the sudden rain. Kihyun did not remember what led up to it, but ingrained in his mind were Hoseok’s arms wrapping around his waist and his own arms wrapping around Hoseok’s shoulders, Hoseok’s lips gliding against his own and muting the rain before them. The kiss reduced them to a pile of giggling, blushing messes that could not even brush hands without combusting and Hoseok made a comment about how glad he was to not have brought his umbrella. 

 

(Things with Minhyuk went back to their normal: ignoring each other. Changkyun never said anything of knowing what was happening between Kihyun and Hoseok. Hyunwoo and Jooheon knew something was going on between them, but they never asked for details. Kihyun now kissed Hoseok goodbye at the bus stop instead of in front of his apartment building. Hoseok asked why once. Kihyun did not answer him.) 

 

In December, around Christmas, a park near where Kihyun lived hosted a small event for the kids, and an ice skating rink was made. Kihyun had thought that it would be a nice idea to go ice skating with Hoseok, so he wasted no time to call him up and invite him. 

 

“Now, I must admit,” Hoseok said as he tied his ice skates, “I suck at ice skating.”

 

Kihyun chuckled, “and I don’t know how to. This will be fun.”

 

Hoseok looked at him, “then why set a date here?”

 

Kihyun stood up once he was done tying his ice skates. “Because it will be fun,” he repeated and looked at Hoseok. “Look, I’m finally taller than you.”

 

Hoseok stood up then. They were basically the same height. Hoseok was a little taller, but the difference was miniscule. Still, Hoseok loved to bring up the difference whenever he could. “Nope, I still win.”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes, “okay, whatever, let’s go.” He linked his arm with Hoseok - it was a habit he had picked up before realizing - and they both wobbled to the entrance of the ice rink. “We can do this,” he muttered to himself. Hoseok chuckled and kissed his temple. 

 

They entered the rink and Kihyun was quick to let go of Hoseok (push him off) and hold on to the railing. Hoseok stood calmly next to him, holding nothing. “I’m hurt,” he said jokingly, putting a hand on his chest.

 

“And I can’t skate,” Kihyun said back. 

 

Hoseok chuckled, “I’ll be right next to you. It’s okay.” 

 

They tried to move with the current of people skating, but Kihyun felt unbalanced every time he moved even a millimeter, so he would recoil and crouched down holding this railing with his two hands until his knuckles were white. He was starting to regret ever suggesting ice skating. They were taking forever to move, but Hoseok was patiently moving next to him, slowly, independently. 

 

Hoseok stuck his hand out to him, “give me your hand. I’ll help you with your balance.” 

 

“And then the both of us will slip and fall? No thanks,” Kihyun shook his head. 

 

Hoseok laughed, “I’m not that bad.” He motioned with his hand, “trust me.”

 

Kihyun sighed and grabbed Hoseok’s hand, “okay.” They moved a little faster now. One hand held Hoseok’s tightly and the other was on the railing. He tried to skate himself but he was too unbalanced, so instead, he let himself be moved by Hoseok. 

 

Skilled kids passed them by. Kihyun looked at them with a pout. “Who does these kids think they are?” He muttered, not jealous at all. Hoseok gave him a look. Kihyun looked at the people behind him, others who could not skate for their lives. 

 

“You can let go of the railing and put all of your weight in me,” Hoseok suggested.

 

Kihyun looked at him up and down. He raised his eyebrow, “you do know how to skate. You just lied to me, didn’t you?”

 

Hoseok shrugged, “I’m good enough to hold you.” He squeezed Kihyun’s hand. 

 

Kihyun’s cheeks warmed and he looked away. He looked at his hand on the railing. “Okay, okay,” he let go of the railing completely. Everything was fine for a moment until Kihyun moved one foot and felt like he would slip up and fall. He instantly leaned into Hoseok and gripped his shirt. “Oh wow, I’m scared,” Kihyun said as he looked at the ice.

 

Hoseok wrapped his arm around Kihyun’s waist, “we can do this together. Let’s go.” Hoseok grabbed one of Kihyun’s hands, and Kihyun put his free hand above Hoseok’s. “One foot and then the other, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok explained and demonstrated how to skate. “Now you try,” he looked at Kihyun.

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no way, no.”

 

Hoseok chuckled and nodded, “okay, then hold tight.” He skated with Kihyun near the railing but not near enough for Kihyun to grab. 

 

“Just because you don’t skate at the Olympic level doesn’t mean you suck at skating, Lee Hoseok,” Kihyun said when they had done a few rounds around the ice skating rink. 

 

Hoseok laughed, “I skated often every winter growing up.” He pulled Kihyun close. By this point, Kihyun was only holding on to Hoseok with one hand, and they were far from the railing. Kihyun trusted Hoseok enough to keep him on his two feet. 

 

“I’ve noticed,” Kihyun smiled. 

 

“You’re doing great, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok looked at him. 

 

Kihyun looked at him back and smiled, “thanks, I’m not doing anything, but thanks.”

 

Hoseok moved Kihyun so that Kihyun was in front of him and not next to him. Kihyun put his arms on Hoseok’s shoulders. “We’re pretty far away from the sides, almost in the center now. I don’t think you’ve noticed for a while now since you were yelling at me at the beginning for sliding too far away. I’m proud of you.”

 

Kihyun looked behind him and noticed that they were far away from the walls of the rink and that he was not afraid because of it. He looked back at Hoseok, “well, that’s a ridiculous thing to be proud of, but I guess you just help me not be afraid.” 

 

“I’m glad,” Hoseok smiled softly. 

 

Kihyun looked around. He looked at all the children chasing each other and crashing into the walls of the rink. He looked at the exasperated parents screaming at their children. He looked at all the couples holding hands trying to skate together (it passed through Kihyun’s head that he was one of those couples). He looked at the actually skaters, the one that looked like they were training for something. He looked at Hoseok. Hoseok was looking at him like he was the only person there, the only person in the world, the only person that mattered, that was worth protecting and caring for. Kihyun tilted his head and raised a brow, “you really want to kiss me right now, don’t you?” 

 

Hoseok laughed and shook his head, “you have no idea.”

 

Kihyun’s hands crossed each other behind Hoseok’s head, bringing Hoseok and him closer. “Then what’s stopping you?”

 

Hoseok’s arms wrapped around him. “Nothing now,” he said before capturing Kihyun’s lips in a kiss in the middle of the ice skating rink. 

 

December made the air cold, but Hoseok made Kihyun warm. The second they kissed, their surroundings vanished, swept away like the wind swept the dust. Maybe there were children who ‘ew’ed at them and parents who sneered for showing PDA in front of the children, but it was so easy to forget the world and everyone in it when Kihyun was with Hoseok. 

 

Kihyun broke the kiss, knowing well that he should not get too carried away in public, and touched foreheads with Hoseok. They looked at each other as best as they could. They could not focus on each other as they were too close, but it was enough for them. 

 

Kihyun felt so happy being here.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The whole park where the ice rink was located was decorated for the festivities. The trees were wrapped with lights, and strings of light connected parallel trees. Kihyun walked under passageways covered with these lights hand in hand with Hoseok and it felt magical. Kihyun was too busy looking at the lights to notice how people were staring at him. He was also quite used to it, but Hoseok was not. 

 

“A lot of people stare at you,” Hoseok observed, casually.

 

Kihyun hummed and placed a finger on his lips to pretend like he was thinking. “Must be the piercings,” he patted Hoseok’s shoulder, “you should wait until summer and see how they react when they learn I also have tattoos.” 

 

Hoseok pouted, “it’s a little rude - to stare the way they stare. Like you’re some spectacle at the circus.”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes, “now, you’re exaggerating.” 

 

“Am not,” Hoseok shot back, reminding Kihyun of a child. “I stare, too. I know that, but I stare because I think you’re fucking hot.” Hoseok did not curse often. When he did, he meant it, so even that comment made Kihyun blush. Hoseok lifted the hair away from Kihyun’s pierced eyebrow. Once, there was only one piercing there; now, there were two. “I can’t stop staring at your new eyebrow piercing. It looks nice.”

 

“I’ve had for a couple of weeks now, Hoseok. You know that, but thanks. I thought it’d look cool,” Kihyun put his hands in his pockets.

 

“Isn’t the double eyebrow piercing trend a little dead though?” Hoseok asked, tilting his head.

 

“I don’t follow trends, Lee Hoseok,” Kihyun looked away, trying to sound coy and dramatic for the hell of it. 

 

“You try to revive them,” Hoseok said back.

 

“Hey!” Kihyun pouted and playfully hit him.

 

Hoseok laughed and hugged Kihyun, “hey, you're the one just getting out of your punk phase.”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes and hugged Hoseok back, “why am I still here with you?”

 

Hoseok separated from Kihyun slightly, not enough to break the hug, “because you like being with me and I like being with you.” He raised one hand and caressed Kihyun's cheek, “I really like being with you. I really like you, Yoo Kihyun.” Kihyun gasped softly, realizing where Hoseok was going with this. His cheeks were warm. “I want to only be with you, and I hope you want to only be with me.” He chuckled, “maybe I'm being a little too dramatic with all of this, but I want to call you my boyfriend. My precious, beautiful, talented boyfriend who outshines anyone and everyone in everything he does.”

 

Kihyun looked down, “how did we go from dissing my fashion sense to you asking me to be your boyfriend so formally?”

 

Hoseok shrugged, “I think that's just us.” They stayed quiet for a few seconds, simply staring at each other’s eyes. “So…” Hoseok cleared his throat and looked away.

 

Kihyun grabbed Hoseok's chin with one hand and pressed a quick kiss on his lips, “I accept. I want you to call me your boyfriend and I want to call you my boyfriend.”

 

Hoseok grinned so widely that Kihyun thought the sides of his lips will soon touch his ears. “Yes, ah what a relief,” he nodded vehemently and then lean to capture Kihyun's lips in the best kiss they've had yet. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun did not tell the parlor about the change of status between Hoseok and he’s relationship. They never really did bring up Hoseok after that incident with Minhyuk. It seemed like they were all reminded again about how much Minhyuk really did like Kihyun. Kihyun just did not want to cause a commotion. Jooheon and Changkyun would get way too loud if they were to find out. That was why he did not tell them yet.

 

(Kihyun also did not want Minhyuk to find out. It did not feel right for Minhyuk to find out. He will be too sad, too heartbroken. Kihyun knew he should not care, but he did. He did not want to see Minhyuk like that.)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Do you want to go swimming in the pool?” Hoseok asked the second Kihyun picked up the phone.

 

Kihyun blinked. He was not sure if he heard right. “You do know we’re in the middle of winter, right?” Kihyun had been in his desk, conjuring up some drawings before Hoseok called. He looked outside the window at the moon. “And that it’s midnight, right?”

 

“My gym opens twenty-four hours, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok sounded ecstatic. “It has an indoor pool. Nobody goes to practice swimming at this time of night.”

 

“And there’s a good reason why, Hoseokkie,” Kihyun rested his hand on his chin. “It's midnight.”

 

“Please, pretty please,” Hoseok kept begging, “pretty please with sugar on top.”

 

“You’re gonna keep this going until I say yes,” Kihyun said, “and it’s cherry on top.”

 

Hoseok let out a mischievous laugh, “if not, then can we watch a movie at your place? I miss you.”

 

Kihyun knitted his eyebrows, “we saw each other this morning.”

 

“And your point is?” Hoseok asked.

 

“No point,” Kihyun shook his head as if Hoseok could see him, “just shocked… and intrigued. Too intrigued to say no. Fine, Hoseok.” He tried to make it sound like he was exasperated, like Hoseok was forcing him to do this. “I’ve never done something like this, so it sounds exciting.”

 

“Yay, great!” Hoseok cheered. “Get ready. I’m almost at your apartment.”

 

“What?” Kihyun’s eyes widened. “There are no buses running at this time of night.”

 

“Taxi,” Hoseok simply answered.

 

“Wow, you really wanted to see me,” Kihyun smiled. 

 

“Well, if you didn’t want to see me, I would’ve turned this taxi around and gone home. I wouldn’t bother you,” Hoseok said softly.

 

“I don’t think you’ve bother me yet, Hoseokkie,” Kihyun said back. “Anyways, I’ll leave you now to go get ready. See you soon.” He blew Hoseok a kiss and hung up.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun greeted Hoseok with a kiss when he entered the taxi. “I still can’t believe you pulled something like this,” Kihyun said as he closed the taxi door.

 

Hoseok grinned at him, “I still can’t believe you agreed to it.”

 

“I feel like I can’t really say no in this situation,” Kihyun put his bag between his legs and looked at Hoseok, “you’ve trapped me.” 

 

Hoseok laughed and shook his head, “no, I didn’t. I just thought that it would be fun.”

 

“It’s definitely interesting,” Kihyun nodded. “I think this is the first time I am see one of the places you work at.” Hoseok worked at too many places as a personal trainer. Kihyun could barely keep up. 

 

“I think I once invited you to one of the classes there, but you declined,” Hoseok chuckled, “I still remember clearly everything you said. You’ll catch me dead before you catch me exercising, babe.”

 

Kihyun suddenly took an interest in what was outside the window, feigning ignorance. “What? I’ve no recollection of ever saying that.” 

 

Hoseok hummed, “I do think you were a little hammered when you said that.” 

 

Kihyun turned and jabbed him on the side, “No, I was not!”

 

After wincing in pain, Hoseok said, “ah, so you remembered!”

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes, “whatever, I’m excited anyways. You did say this was a cool looking gym.” He wrapped his arms around Hoseok, “maybe I’ll change my mind and come to visit you when I’m free.”

 

Hoseok chuckled and put his hand on Kihyun’s thigh, “that’d be great.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun gasped as he looked at the ginormous pool in front of him. He had asked Hoseok if it was olympic sized, but Hoseok said it was not. It was still giant. It was a basic square pool divided into three section, each deeper than the other. There was nothing family friendly or vacation friendly about it but apparently, Hoseok had that covered. 

 

“I still can’t believe you brought a reclinable folding chair with you,” Kihyun said as he put his bag on the floor. 

 

Hoseok was carrying all the packages, because he refused to let Kihyun carry anything, which slightly annoyed Kihyun. “I wanted to give you the full experience. I also brought an inflatable beach ball and I almost brought a plastic shovel and all those sand castle building tools but I talked myself out of them,” he set all his things down. 

 

Kihyun narrowed his eyes, “you have those things?”

 

“Nope,” Hoseok shook his head, “that’s why I talked myself out of buying them.” 

 

Kihyun chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, “you’re ridiculous. Where’s the bathroom?”

 

Hoseok pointed at them and Kihyun went to change. When he came back, Hoseok had already set up the foldable chair and was sitting on it inflating the beach ball. He already had his swimsuit on and Kihyun had scolded him in the taxi cab for going outside in the cold weather like that. 

 

Kihyun looked around. The floor tile was white and so were the walls. The pool looked strikingly blue against this white white ground. There were window panels in one of the walls that opened to the outside. The pools was on the second story of a building and though skyscrapers surrounded the building, the view outside looked stunning. The buildings in front of the gym captured all the lights from the night sky and reflected them back. Kihyun walked to the windows in absolute wonder. 

 

In the background, Kihyun heard a loud noise, and when he turned to see what it was, he saw Hoseok at the edge of the pool and the ball on the pool. He assumed Hoseok had kicked it in and that was the loud noise. 

 

“Let’s go play with the ball, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok said. “Should we play on this side,” Hoseok pointed at the most shallow part of the pool, “because… you know.” 

 

Kihyun looked at the pool and then back at Hoseok. Was he making the joke thought Kihyun was making? Kihyun glared at him, “you - we’re basically the same height!” Hoseok chuckled and dived into the pool. He swam across to the side where Kihyun was. Kihyun rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, “gosh, you’d really get along with Hyungwon if you knew him well.”  _ Minhyuk, too. _ Kihyun shook his head. He was not going there today.

 

Hoseok chuckled. He shook his head, “no, only I’m allowed to tease you.” He splashed the water next to him, “come on, get in! The water’s the perfect temperature.” 

 

Kihyun gave him a smile and walked the side of the pool until he was by the chair Hoseok set up. Hoseok followed him in the water. Kihyun took off the white t-shirt he was wearing and Hoseok gasped. Kihyun looked at him and raised a brow, “what?” 

 

Hoseok rested his head on his arms, “why are you so pretty?” 

 

Kihyun rolled his eyes. He felt a little bare and self conscious being shirtless in front of Hoseok, whose physique was much better than his will ever be, but Hoseok always knew the right words to say to make Kihyun feel a bit more comfortable. 

 

Kihyun had seen Hoseok shirtless before. Though he knew what he was going to see (a body like Hoseok’s was hard to forget), Kihyun still felt a little breathless looking at him. 

 

Kihyun put his white tee on the chair and walked to the edge of the pool, in front of Hoseok. Hoseok moved aside to give him space to come in. Kihyun dipped his toe in and felt that the temperature of the water really was nice. He did not jumped in like Hoseok, but instead slowly lowered himself in. He was surprised Hoseok never dragged him inside during the whole process. 

 

When Kihyun looked at Hoseok, Hoseok was giving him a  toothy grin. “It’s nice, right?” He asked. Kihyun nodded enthusiastically. Hoseok chuckled and grabbed Kihyun’s hand, “wait, let me see you.” He raised Kihyun’s hand and made him twirl as if he was in a ballet recital. Kihyun laughed awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. 

 

Kihyun would not say he had tattoos everywhere, but he had more tattoos than he average person. That was a given. He had tattoos covering the top of his arms, some in his fingers, one on the top of his left hand, his back, and other places. He has been working on the ones in his legs and torso. Okay, so maybe he did have tattoos everywhere. 

 

“Did you design them yourself?” Hoseok asked once he finished spinning Kihyun. 

 

“Most of them,” Kihyun said. He shrugged, trying to look casual. 

 

Hoseok rubbed the back of his hand, “you’re an artist, Kihyunnie.”

 

Kihyun gave him half a smile, “thanks.”

 

Hoseok moved closer to Kihyun and kissed him. It was simple pecks on the lips at first, but Kihyun never allowed it to stay to just that. Kissing Hoseok always felt great, since it always cleared Kihyun’s mind from all its thoughts. His heart rate increased in the most special of ways that helped him forget of all the bad things in his life. Hoseok moved him until he was against the wall of the pool. Hoseok wrapped his arms around Kihyun’s bum, pushing him slightly up, and Kihyun wrapped his legs around Hoseok’s waist without much thought. Kihyun’s hands rested on Hoseok’s shoulders. They moved from Hoseok’s chest to the nook of Hoseok’s neck. 

 

Hoseok did not need to ask in any way for Kihyun to open his mouth. By now, Kihyun knew to a certain degree what Hoseok liked and what Hoseok wanted and when he wanted it, so it was no surprise when they both met with open mouths, teeth clacking, and tongues invading. 

 

Hoseok’s tongue sent shivers all throughout Kihyun’s body, making his skin rise in pleasure and his hands grip Hoseok’s wet hair tightly, but as much as Kihyun liked to have Hoseok take control in these kisses, he could not help but fight back a little. He knew Hoseok liked it. Hoseok liked the feeling of Kihyun’s tongue against his, liked the feeling of Kihyun’s piercing when it explored Hoseok’s mouth. 

 

Kihyun smirked during the kiss when Hoseok let out an audible moan and pulled Kihyun closer towards him, holding tightly at the sides of Kihyun’s hips. 

 

They broke apart some later, when Kihyun’s lungs were burning for oxygen. They stared in each other’s half-closed eyes as they tried to catch their breath. Kihyun smiled at Hoseok and leaned his head in until his forehead touched Hoseok’s. At that moment, it felt like Hoseok was the only thing that mattered, the only was that could make everything okay for Kihyun. 

 

“Didn’t you say we were going to play with the ball?” Kihyun asked, still panting. 

 

Hoseok chuckled and nodded. He was still short of breath, too. Kihyun saw it in the way his body moved. One that Kihyun suddenly could not stop staring at.

 

Hoseok went to look for the ball. Kihyun watched him while biting his lip. The ball was on the other side of the pool, so it took a few seconds to get to it. Kihyun enjoyed every second of watching Hoseok’s muscle break through the water.

 

He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts once Hoseok reached the ball. 

 

“Catch!” Hoseok yelled and threw the ball. Too high and too fast. Kihyun fall backwards into the water trying to catch it, which he did not.

 

And that was the start for their pool date in the middle of the night. They played with the ball for a while, taunted each other while chasing each other around, made out in all four corners of the pool and other places, raced each other (though it could barely be called a race considering Kihyun barely made it halfway through the pool before Hoseok was done. Hoseok actually thought he was drowning and tried to save him. Kihyun was perfectly fine, just slow, though he did not complain about being hoisted up in Hoseok’s arms the way he was though. He still did consider trying out exercising for just a second), and much more.

 

During the silent dusk hours, they were together on the chair Hoseok brought. Hoseok laid in it, and Kihyun sat at its edge, eating a sandwich Hoseok had prepared. “Wow, you really did think of everything, didn’t you?” Kihyun said as he took another bite of the sandwich. It was not half bad.

 

Hoseok had his arms over his eyes. He was growing tired. Kihyun could tell. He moved his arms aways from the eye he opened to look at Kihyun and smirked. He moved to make himself more comfortable and cleared his throat, moving his hands to rest behind his neck. “Do you think I’ll get a tan if I sunbathe here?”

 

Kihyun looked around before looking back at Hoseok, “where is the sun, Hoseok?”

 

Hoseok pointed at him, “my sun is right here.”

 

Kihyun looked away, trying to hide his blush, “oh…” He cleared his throat to gain some composure and finished his sandwich. “Sleepiness is making you cheesier, Hoseokkie.”

 

Hoseok chuckled and raised himself up, grabbing Kihyun and bringing him down to him. Kihyun let out a yelp and landed on Hoseok’s chest. Kihyun looked at him with wide eyes, surprised because Hoseok had never done this before, had never had the opportunity to do this. Hoseok smiled softly and caressed Kihyun’s cheek. They stayed like that for a few seconds. Kihyun would have been fine with them staying like that forever, but Hoseok gently moved Kihyun off him. The chair was narrow, so Kihyun got on his side facing Hoseok to fit better. Hoseok told him to turn to the other side, and Kihyun, a little confused, did. 

 

From behind, Hoseok wrapped his arms around Kihyun and pulled him close. Kihyun always insisted in saying that their physical differences were not much, but here, right now, it felt obvious that there was a difference. Kihyun felt small in Hoseok’s arm. Luckily, it never felt like a puny small to be made fun of. In Hoseok’s arms, Kihyun felt cared for and protected, like he could let all his guards down and he will be fine. 

 

“Lay with me awhile,” Hoseok said against Kihyun’s ear. After that, he retreated to lay his head behind Kihyun’s. 

 

Kihyun felt Hoseok’s even breaths at the back of his head. He gently places his shaking hands above Hoseok’s and turned his head to try to see Hoseok. He could not. “Don’t fall asleep here, Hoseokkie,” he said, squeezing Hoseok’s hand. 

 

Hoseok hummed, “I won’t,” and so they stayed like that awhile.

 

They filled the air with little bits of conversation. Kihyun was scared that either Hoseok or him or both will fall asleep here. It was lighthearted, meaningless conversations, enough to keep them awake at this time of night and make Kihyun fall deeper for Hoseok.

 

“So what's this tattoo about?” Hoseok asked, tracing the inked lines in Kihyun's back. 

 

Kihyun laughed, thinking of what a long story it was. He explained the concept of the tattoo to Hoseok. He explained every line and detail with passion. He explained what it was supposed to mean to him, its symbolism and its story. 

 

As he explained, Kihyun was brought back to the past. His voice became the background noise, as if he was not the one speaking. Slowly, as the image of a memory cleared up a bit, his voice merged with another before it became Minhyuk's. His memory cleared up more and Kihyun saw himself in Minhyuk's apartment. They were on the floor, and Minhyuk had Kihyun's back tattoo designs in front of him as he vividly explained every single one of them with so much emotion and so many hand motions and Kihyun swore his eyes shone brighter than stars as he spoke. 

 

Kihyun remembered still believing that he was in love with Minhyuk. 

 

Hoseok asked him something. Kihyun did not hear him, “huh?”

 

Hoseok asked again, “is it finished?”

 

It was not. “What do you think?”

 

Hoseok kissed his shoulder blade, “I don't know.”

 

Kihyun turned to face Hoseok, “it isn't." The line work was completely done along with half of the shading. Minhyuk always liked to make sure his work always looked done somehow, so Kihyun’s back piece was fully shaded in his lower back and it naturally faded as it reached his upper back, where it was only the line work, as if it was meant to be like that. 

 

Hoseok hummed, nodding, “when are you planning on finishing it?”

 

Kihyun sighed, “I don't know.” He tried to imagine himself with Minhyuk at Minhyuk's private room. They would chat and joke like they did before. The moment mundane but still rather intimate. Kihyun could not imagine finishing the tattoo now, but he felt like it was necessary. It was another loose end that he needed to tie. “Soon, I hope. I should… finish it, end it, close this chapter of my life.” 

 

Hoseok chuckled, nodding, “yeah, I guess you could put it like that, Kihyunnie.” He scooted closer to Kihyun, grabbing onto him like he was a body pillow, and closed his eyes. 

 

Kihyun smiled and poked Hoseok’s cheek, “you’re falling asleep, babe.” Hoseok shook his head and mumbled a denial, sleepily. Kihyun sighed and rolled his eyes, “so am I though. It’s going to be four in the morning. I think it’s best to pack everything up and just go home.” Hoseok took a second, but he ended up nodding, stretching, and sitting up. 

 

They packed everything in silence and Hoseok called for an Uber. “You should stay with me tonight,” Hoseok told Kihyun as he packed. 

 

Kihyun paused, his cheeks pink, “why?”

 

“It’s four in the morning, and I live five minutes away. It’s better that way. We’ll get more rest,” Hoseok explained. 

 

“I can just go home by myself, Hoseokkie,” Kihyun cleared his throat. His mind was filling with images of being in Hoseok’s apartment, in his living space. It felt far too personal but also far too strange to not have gone there before. Going there now still did not feel right though. 

 

Hoseok gently grabbed Kihyun’s wrist. Kihyun looked at him. Hoseok smiled - there was so much warmth in his smile that Kihyun wanted to melt - and shook his head. “I don’t want you to go,” Hoseok said softly, “stay with me tonight.”

 

Hoseok looked so sincere and innocent. Kihyun could only nod. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hoseok’s apartment was small but cozy, similar to Kihyun’s except that Kihyun’s apartment was one room while Hoseok’s had two rooms. His roommate was out of town for the weekend, so they had the apartment to themselves. Not that they could do much since they were both exhausted. 

 

Hoseok let Kihyun use the bathroom first and let him borrow some clothes he could use as pajamas. The most Kihyun has worn from Hoseok were his jackets. Kihyun rubbed the material of the shirt Hoseok lent him. It was soft. 

 

Kihyun sat at the edge of Hoseok’s bed. He wanted to surf the internet while waiting for Hoseok to finish showering, but he was too tired to even do that. He also knew that if he laid down on the bed, he would fall asleep instantly, and he did not want that. The bed was not a bad size, but if they were going to sleep in it together, it would be a rather tight fit. Kihyun envisioned himself peacefully sleeping close to Hoseok and Hoseok keeping a protective arm around him. He covered his blushing cheeks when he heard the door to the bathroom opening. 

 

The bathroom was right next to Hoseok’s room, so it only took a second for Hoseok to enter the bedroom. Hoseok had a towel on his bare shoulders and his hair was still dripping wet. His joggers were hanging low on his hips, making Kihyun gulp. “You’re still awake, Kihyunnie?” Hoseok asked as he dried his hair and yawned. 

 

Kihyun looked away and nodded, “I…” His words were lost simply thinking of how Hoseok looked in that moment. He cleared his throat, trying to get his thoughts together. “I… didn’t know where I’d be sleeping?” he looked back at Hoseok, “be-because you’re s-sleeping on the bed, right?”

 

Hoseok blinked at him, confused. “I thought we both could sleep on the bed… unless that makes you uncomfortable!” He waved his hands nervously, “I’m fine crashing in Gunhee’s bed. It’s not like he’ll ever know.” Hoseok shrugged, trying to seem like he was fine. Kihyun could tell that he was jittery.

 

“Sleep on the same bed?” Kihyun muttered quickly to himself, low enough that Hoseok could not hear. “Yeah,” he nodded, quickly, “no, that’s fine - perfectly fine.” Kihyun wanted to hit himself for making it awkward. He laid down on the bed, closed his eyes, and enjoyed how comfortable it was. Kihyun heard Hoseok let out a small laugh and then go about the room to do who knows what. Kihyun was too tired to open his eyes and find out. 

 

With his mind standing at the edge of the abyss of unconsciousness, Kihyun’s body felt cemented to the bed. He felt a dip in the bed though. He knew it was Hoseok, and he automatically fluttered his eyes opened. Hoseok smiled at him. His hair looked noticeably drier. He carefully shifted over Kihyun and turned off the light that was in the nightstand on Kihyun’s side. When the light was off, only the city lights and the moon illuminated the room. It was enough to see Hoseok’s silhouette and make out a few of his facial features. 

 

Hoseok grabbed the blanket Kihyun was also using and wrapped it around himself. “Good night, love,” he whispered before settling to bed, his back to the mattress. 

 

Kihyun was on his side, and he stared at Hoseok for a few seconds. He still felt rather drowsy, but Hoseok was a sight he never wanted to miss, even if he could barely see him in the dark. Kihyun slowly reached down towards Hoseok and grabbed one of his hands. Hoseok opened his eyes and turned his body towards Kihyun. He held tightly to Kihyun’s hand. “Thank you for this,” Kihyun said. His voice was groggy already. “It was so sudden, and I would have never expected it in a thousand years, but I had so much fun,” Kihyun smiled at him. 

 

“You’re welcome,” Hoseok grinned. He giggled mischievously and shrugged, “you know, I wanted to be spontaneous for once.” 

 

Kihyun wanted to laugh, but he only really did a shoulder laugh. He thought the whole thing was too planned out to be spontaneous. He went along with it though. “These sort of sweet, spontaneous acts always make a man seem more attractive to me.”

 

Hoseok raised a brow, “oh, really?”

 

Kihyun grinned, sleepily, “really, really.”

 

Hoseok scooted closer to Kihyun and kissed the hand he was holding. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” 

 

Kihyun could feel Hoseok breathing. He was so close that he awakened Kihyun again and made him forget how to breathe for just one second. Kihyun could not resist. He moved closer and leaned forward to kiss Hoseok. 

 

Hoseok kissed him back, nice and slow. It was perfect for this time of night. Like a rollercoaster on its ascension, the intensity and the emotions and the anticipation grew. It was not long before Kihyun reached towards Hoseok with his hands, trying to find a shirt or anything that he could use to pull Hoseok towards him. When he found nothing, he settled for Hoseok’s neck, wrapping his arms there and pulling Hoseok towards him until Hoseok landed on top of him. The kiss deepened then. Kihyun felt Hoseok wrapped his arms around him. All of Kihyun’s senses heightened, and he moaned when he felt Hoseok’s hands touch his lower back right under his shirt. It was all Hoseok needed to go further, and it was making Kihyun delirious with pleasure. He wanted this to not end, to keep going, to where it it lead. 

 

Everything seemed to be going great. Hoseok had his hands under Kihyun's shirt, running them over his back and chest, his shirt so riled up that Kihyun might as well not have it on. Hoseok was kissing his neck, marking it really. Kihyun was panting and his mind was clouded. Kihyun was not thinking straight, his mind foggy. He did not want to think. He wanted to live in this moment and this moment only. 

 

Kihyun did a good job at it for he did not sense the looming dark thoughts building in the back of his mind. Dark thoughts that build often, sometimes when he over thought or (like now) let his feelings take over. Those thoughts broke through the fog in his mind and filled Kihyun's body with all the feelings he should not be feeling at the moment. It sent a shiver down his spine. Fear, worry, betrayal, hurt, anxiety, second thoughts, what-ifs, flashbacks of past relationships, the good, the bad, the bad, the bad, bad, bad, bad - Kihyun should not be doing this. 

 

“STOP!”

 

They froze. Hoseok leaned away from Kihyun, getting off from him, and looked at him with wide eyes filled with shock. Kihyun was looking back, heavy breathing and with fear in his eyes. 

 

“Kihyun, are you okay? What's wrong?” Hoseok reached for Kihyun's cheek but stopped himself before he could touch it. “Did I do something wrong?” His voice was weak. 

 

Kihyun blinked, trying to get some clearance in his mind, trying to remember that he was with Hoseok, not Minhyuk nor the one who hurt him the most. Hoseok. Sweet, sweet Hoseok, who cared so much about Kihyun and put the blame on himself first if anything happened to Kihyun. Kihyun bit his bottom lip. Hoseok did not need to think like that. This was not his fault. This was just Kihyun being insecure, still a tad scared of the fact that he was in a relationship again and he did not know where it could lead. 

 

Kihyun shook his head, “no, no, it isn't.” He pulled Hoseok close to him, laying him on his side and putting his head on his chest. Hoseok's heart was beating fast. “It's not your fault. It isn't. I'm just not,” he paused, “ready. I'm not.”

 

It took a second, but Hoseok wrapped an arm around Kihyun's waist hesitantly. He rested his chin on Kihyun's head once he saw that Kihyun did not react negatively to his advances. “That's okay, Kihyunnie,” he moved his hand over Kihyun's back, “I'm still here. It's okay. You don't have to be ready right now, and I won't force you into anything.”

 

Kihyun gulped. Hearing those words was comforting, but still… “I've got a lot of baggage, Hoseok. A lot of things that I carry around with me. I wish to tell you about them. I want to start a conversation with you. At some point. But I'm terrified. I-I don't know how. I…” Kihyun sighed, feeling at a loss of words. 

 

Hoseok pulled him closer. His arm was still around Kihyun's waist. “Tell me when you're ready, Kihyun. I'll be here to listen to you and to be with you right after.”

 

Kihyun laughed bitterly. He shook his head, “you don't understand, Hoseok. I don’t know if you’ll feel the same after I tell you.”

 

“Kihyun,” Hoseok’s voice was stern. He put his finger under Kihyun’s chin and pulled his head up so that they made eye contact. After that, he caressed Kihyun’s cheek, “Kihyunnie, I think you forgot that I am in love with you, that I am willing to understand and listen to everything about you and even overlook because I care about you so much.”

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened, and he felt a puzzle piece click in his mind. That was right. Hoseok… He was in love with him. It seemed like the simple, beautiful truth, and Kihyun felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. He has heard many “I love you”s before but never an “in love” so direct. It felt more special. Kihyun smiled and rested his head on Hoseok’s chest, “that’s right… me too.” 

 

Hoseok kissed the top of his head, “let’s sleep. It’s basically morning already.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They spent the entire rest of the day together. They did not go anywhere or did anything special. When Kihyun woke up, it was already the afternoon. Hoseok was still sleeping with his arm loosely around Kihyun’s frame, snoring softly. Kihyun cracked a sleepy smile. He felt so much better now. Last night did not go as he expected, and Kihyun could not help but feel a bit ashamed for having Hoseok witness that side of him, that side that he never wanted to show, that side that had him so afraid. It was good, in a way. Maybe Hoseok witnessing that was good, because Hoseok seemed so caring and understanding with him and so like - him. Kihyun felt grateful but still a little scared. Maybe Hoseok looked at him differently now, in a more negative way. 

 

Kihyun sighed and stretched. He did not want to let his thoughts continue. It always meant bad news if they kept heading in the direction they were heading. His movements caused Hoseok to stir and soon after, he was fluttering his eyes open and stretching, too. Kihyun watched him quietly with his hands under his head like a pillow. Hoseok smiled when he saw Kihyun next to him. “Good morning, babe,” he said, stretching again. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, “morning.” Once Hoseok finished stretching, he let his arms fall on Kihyun. He wrapped around the younger man and brought him in, giving him a tight hug. Kihyun laughed throughout it. He felt like it was going to be a good day. 

 

For their breakfast/brunch/lunch (it was too late to really decide), Hoseok made ramen for them. Kihyun told him that he could help, but Hoseok refused, stating that Kihyun was at his home and was his guest and his lovely boyfriend so he was not doing anything in this house under his watch. Kihyun had rolled his eyes at the statement, but it was okay. Hoseok was trying to pamper him, and Kihyun would let him do that just for today and maybe other days, too. 

 

The rest of the day was spent casually, either in moments of lively talking or in moments of enjoyable silence, where they simply basked in each other’s presence. Hoseok exercised later in the afternoon. Kihyun definitely enjoyed that, and he had a feeling Hoseok knew that Kihyun enjoyed the view by the angle he exercised in. Kihyun could see a lot. He even helped Hoseok out with the sit ups and the pushups. He was just holding Hoseok in place for the sits up, but every time Hoseok sat up, he would peck Kihyun in the lips. Kihyun enjoyed that. 

 

Kihyun did not have to help in the pushups. He technically did not help at all in the pushups. He just wanted to see if it was possible to lay under Hoseok while Hoseok did the pushups and kiss him every time he went down. It was possible, but it was only a matter of time before Kihyun kept Hoseok down and kissed him for real - slow and sensual and the way he knew Hoseok liked it. After all, Hoseok once told him that he could not get enough of Kihyun’s tongue piercing, and Kihyun was always happy to please him this way.

 

Kihyun also finally saw Hoseok’s pet bunnies. Last night was too late and too dark for Kihyun to see anything other than the hallway that led to the bathroom and Hoseok’s room. In broad daylight, once he entered the main living space, the bunnies were the first thing he noticed. He spent a good half of the day focusing on the bunnies only and not on Hoseok, which made Hoseok pouty and jealous. Not the jealousy Kihyun was used to, but a funny, cute jealousy that Kihyun knew was not meant to be taken seriously. 

 

Kihyun threatened to take the bunnies home. 

 

As the sun started to set, Hoseok asked Kihyun if he worked the next day, a Sunday, and Kihyun nodded. Hoseok, with a really pouty expression, said that he should then take him home, and Kihyun awed at him and pinched his cheeks before kissing him and calling him cute. Kihyun knew Hoseok wanted him to stay another day, but Kihyun had projects to work on for clients tomorrow, and he had already procrastinated enough. He also told Hoseok that he could go home alone, but Hoseok refused and said that he would spend any second that he could with Kihyun, and that included riding the bus with him. Kihun said that he was too much, and Hoseok just shrugged and kissed him again. 

 

“I know I’m being whinish and childish but this fucking sucks,” Hoseok crossed his arms and pouted. The bus was already a few stations away from the one they got in on.

 

Kihyun chuckled, “I can tell by the way you’re cussing.”

 

“Huh,” Hoseok’s hands fell besides him, “I don’t curse much, do I?”

 

“Yup,” Kihyun nodded, “and I curse way too fucking much.” He scooted closer to Hoseok and wrapped his arm around Hoseok’s, resting his chin on his shoulder, “that makes us the perfect pair, doesn’t it?”

 

“You do curse way too fucking much,” Hoseok nodded.

 

Kihyun stiffened, slightly unwinding from Hoseok, “i-is that bad?” Suddenly, his many fears were back. He felt his heartbeat on the back of his ear. 

 

Hoseok shook his head, “absolutely not. It’s just an observation.” He snickered and gently bumped his head against Kihyun’s, “I think it balances us out.”

 

Kihyun let out a breath he was holding. “Yeah,” he smiled, “that is definitely why I like guys that don’t curse too much.” That and Kihyun still had the echoes of his first love yelling curses at him. He never wanted to experience that again. 

 

Hoseok chuckled and shook his head, “glad you can check that off the list with me. What else do you like me for?” He raised an eyebrow. 

 

Kihyun unwinded from Hoseok fully and crossed his arms. He put a finger on his lips and pretended to think, “let’s see… we have similar music tastes… you’re hot, Instagram famous…”

 

“Wow, how superficial,” Hoseok chuckled, “and I am not Instagram famous. Where did you get that from?”

 

Kihyun looked at him and raised an eyebrow, “hon, you get free fitness stuff from companies.”

 

“Okay, but not that much,” Hoseok said. 

 

“Still do,” Kihyun wrapped his arm around Hoseok’s again. He had learned that he enjoyed doing this. “I like you for many things, Hoseok. I could name them all, but I think we’d run out of time before I could.”

 

Hoseok stayed quiet for a second, “wow, that was cheesy.”

 

Kihyun playfully hit him, “I got it from you.”

 

Hoseok chuckled and wrapped his free arm around Kihyun, kissing his forehead, “probably because I feel the same way.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently without my glasses doing a face mask so I am completely blind and I don't know if I am doing this right lol  
> How did y'all like the dates? I love this chapter very much uwu  
> Did you guys noticed a change in the title amounts???? *eyes emoji*  
> I'm going to see MX in two days and I am freaking out I hope everything goes okay hgnnnnnn  
> Thank you sooooo much for reading and commenting and the kudos and everything! I appreciate them so much!


	8. 8:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loose strings are tied. Old doors are closed. It's time to look forward fully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg last chapter nooooo T.T  
> lol enjoy!

  
  


Hoseok held on to Kihyun like a koala when Kihyun was going up the front steps of his apartment building. Kihyun had a big smile on his face all the way up, his hands happily resting on top of Hoseok’s, which were nicely settled low on his stomach. Once they reached the top of the steps, they stayed attached for a few seconds longer. Kihyun told Hoseok that he had to let go and Hoseok just whispered into Kihyun's ear that he did not want to let go. It sent shivers all throughout Kihyun's body. 

 

Eventually, they parted. Hoseok grabbed Kihyun's hands and kissed them both. He promised to call him as soon as he got home, and Kihyun had giggled and told him that he might be too busy to answer the call. Hoseok said that he would still try and try again. They stared at each other as Kihyun opened the door and entered his apartment building. They held eye contact as Hoseok walked down the steps backward until he hit the sidewalk. There, Hoseok blew him a kiss with his hand and waved goodbye before finally leaving. 

 

Kihyun smiled softly as he watched Hoseok go. His heart felt full. 

 

The smile dropped a few seconds later. 

 

Instead of going up to his apartment, Kihyun stayed inside the small lobby, waiting for Hoseok to be far away enough for Kihyun to go outside again without him noticing.

 

Kihyun had been thinking. His relationship with Hoseok was becoming more serious now. It was not only a few casual dates anymore. It was becoming more and Kihyun wanted it to become more, because the more time he spent with Hoseok, the more he fell for him. Hoseok was a new door in his life. Through the other side of that door was brightness and warmth and care and love, but Kihyun knew that to get through that door, he need to close the old one. 

 

That old door was Minhyuk.

 

Minhyuk, for once and for all, needed to finally accept that Kihyun was not coming back. 

 

When around twenty minutes passed, Kihyun left the lobby and quickly crossed the street to the building in front of him. He grabbed his keys and opened the door to the lobby. This was the first time he was glad he did not throw the keys to Minhyuk's apartment in Minhyuk’s face during their last fight and that he never gave them back afterwards out of simply and pettily not wanting to hold a conversation with Minhyuk ever again. 

 

Kihyun took the stairs to Minhyuk’s apartment. He knew that if he were to take the elevator, he would have second thoughts during the wait. Constantly moving kept his thoughts away for the time being but once he reached Minhyuk’s door, he froze. He gulped and went to knock, holding his breath, but before he could, he sighed and rested his hand against the door. 

 

( _ “Wait, we really live across from each other?” Kihyun asked for the second time in a minute and set down the box he was carrying on Minhyuk’s desk. _

 

_ Minhyuk nodded excitedly, “yeah.” He repeated his address again to confirm. _

 

_ “Yeah, that’s right across,” Kihyun grinned.  _

 

_ “Wow,” Minhyuk smiled and walked up to him, putting his hands on Kihyun’s shoulders, “who knew I’d be training my neighbor?” Kihyun laughed and went to answer, but Minhyuk kept talking, “who knew he’d be cute, too?” He let go of Kihyun and shrugged, turning back and going back to what he was doing before.  _

 

_ Kihyun was left in shock. The tattoo artist he had admired for a long time, who now turned out to be his neighbour, was flirting him? _ )

 

Kihyun took a deep breathe and told himself that he could do it. He needed to do it. For Hoseok. He knocked on the door and suddenly hoped that Minhyuk was not home. 

Minhyuk was, and he opened the door with a confused expression, one that widened when he saw Kihyun at the door, “Kihyun?”

 

Kihyun tapped the sides of his thighs. He gulped, “we need to talk.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Once inside Minhyuk’s apartment, Kihyun was at a lost for words again. The shadows of his pasts haunted his peripheral vision and for a second, he wondered where it all went wrong. Standing here, by the couch where so many amazing things happened (and where a lot of bad things happened, too) with Minhyuk facing him near the door, felt wrong. It felt awkward and cold and Kihyun did not know how to start what he wanted to say. 

 

“What’s going on, Kihyun? Why are you here?” Minhyuk asked, crossing his arms. 

Kihyun took a deep breath, because it was now or never, and if never, everything will blow up in his face. “I need to tell you this first because it… it’s about time, Minhyuk,” Kihyun said. 

 

( _ “Come on, come on, come on,” Kihyun clasped his hands together in a praying motion as he watched the players - Minhyuk, Jooheon, and Hyunwoo - set their cards on the table. They all did at the same time. Minhyuk won. “Yes!” Kihyun stood up and cheered and Minhyuk cheered with him. They turned to each other and hugged in celebration.  _

 

_ When they broke it off, Minhyuk turned to the table and grabbed all the money that was on it, “once again, boys, I terminated you.”  _

 

_ Jooheon rolled his eyes, “oh, don’t get too cocky, you ass. This is only the third round. Let’s go at it again.” He took a couple of banknotes and slapped them on the table.  _

 

_ “Hey, don’t cuss,” Minhyuk looked at him sternly. “It’s not nice,” he shook his head and turned to Kihyun. He pointed at Jooheon and Hyunwoo, “these losers don’t get tired of losing.”  _

 

_ Kihyun chuckled, “kick their asses, Min.” _

 

_ Jooheon scoffed, “oh yeah, he can cuss, but not us.” _

 

_ Hyunwoo chuckled as he put more money on the table, “the rules are different for Kihyun in Minhyuk’s book.” _

 

_ “I still hate it,” Minhyuk said, looking at Kihyun, “can’t really stop him though.” Kihyun smiled at him. Minhyuk smiled at him back. _

 

_ Jooheon rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Can’t they just make out already?” He asked Hyunwoo as if Kihyun and Minhyuk were not in the room. _

 

_ “Oh hush, will you?” Minhyuk gave all the money he earned to Kihyun and sat back down. He put cash on the table, “get ready to lose again.” _

 

_ Kihyun sat down next to Minhyuk. His thoughts were stuck on Jooheon’s question. He sure would not mind that. As the months passed, it has become obvious that things were a little different between Minhyuk and him, but they have not really comfrontate it yet, but Kihyun could not contemplate on that now. “I still can’t believe you all are just casually gambling in the back of the parlour,” he said to keep his mind busy.) _

 

Minhyuk raised a brow, “what? What is it? What do you need to tell me? What is about time?” 

 

Kihyun balled his fists and relaxed them. He was looking down. This should not be as hard as it feels. “Hoseok,” he was only able to get out before feeling like he was going to choke. He took a deep breath and looked at Minhyuk, “I’m going out with him. I’m dating him, Minhyuk. He’s… he’s my boyfriend.”

 

Minhyuk’s eyes widened and he uncrossed his arms, “what?”

 

“You heard me,” Kihyun said, a little harsher than he wanted it to be. He felt every emotion and everything he wanted to tell Minhyuk wanting to spill out at once. He cleared his throat to calm down a little bit. “I really like him, and I really care about him, but I know that you still like me, and I just wanted you to know…” He really did not know where he was going with this. He should have planned it out. 

 

“Wait, no, Kihyun, you can’t do this to me,” Minhyuk said. His desperation was heard and he took steps towards Kihyun. 

 

No, Kihyun was not going to fall for it. He was not going to stop, walk out, and let this drag on. That was what he felt like doing though. “Well, I am!” Kihyun looked at him sternly, glared, “it’s over, Minhyuk. That’s all I wanted to tell you. I am done with you. I am done with your bullshit and whatever you’ve been doing for the last couple of months since we broke up. I am just tired.” Minhyuk paused. Kihyun sighed, “if you needed a real breakup, here it is. Please, just stop.” 

 

_ (“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Kihyun kneeled down and looked at all the broken glass in front of him. How was he supposed to explain this? He was done for. Hyunwoo will kill him, kick him out of the parlor, ruin his future.  _

 

_ “Woah, what happened here?” Minhyuk asked when he entered the storage room.  _

 

_ Kihyun lamely attempted to hide the broken ink glasses from view with his body. Minhyuk quickly ran to where he was and kneeled next to him. “Shit, shit, shit, look, I am sorry. I really didn’t mean it. It was an accident. I bumped into an opened box of ink. I didn’t even realize until it was too late. Gosh, I can be so clumsy at times,” Kihyun wanted to grab his hair and rip it out, “I’m done for. I am so done fo-” _

 

_ “Kihyun. Kihyun hey,” Minhyuk caught his attention by gently putting a hand on his cheek. “It’s fine,” he smiled.  _

 

It’s not fine _ , Kihyun shuddered out a breath as he looked at Minhyuk with wide eyes,  _ your hand is on my face.

 

_ “Accidents happen,” Minhyuk rubbed rubbed his thumb on Kihyun’s cheek and leaned close to him, “I’ll tell Hyunwoo it was because of me, and this will get resolved real easily.” _

 

_ Kihyun wanted to tell him that he did not have to do that, but he was too busy thinking of all the unprofessional ways this scene could play out like.  _

 

_ Minhyuk smiled and patted his cheek before standing up, “just clean this up and I’ll go talk to Hyunwoo.” Minhyuk looked down at Kihyun and winked before waving goodbye and leaving the room. _

 

_ Kihyun was left alone, with ink surrounding him, like a fool and helplessly falling in love.)  _

 

Minhyuk gulped visibly. Kihyun saw how jittery he was. “You - this is really happening?” 

 

“I’m -” Kihyun sighed, “you can’t keep up this game. I’m not interested in you anymore. I’m not - willing to play this game anymore. I’m not available to. You can’t keep going on like I’ll jump into your arms once we’ve ignored each other enough. It’s not like that anymore. I’m not - interested in you that way anymore. Even if I was, even if I was available, you know very well that we could not keep our relationship going.”

 

Minhyuk opened his mouth, probably to counterattack what Kihyun said, but he closed it when nothing came out. He huffed and looked down before turning away from Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun gulped. “We were heading for destruction, Minhyukkie,” he said softly, facing Minhyuk’s back.

 

( _ Minhyuk nursed the empty bottle of beer. “I don’t normally drink, but sometimes I feel like I have to,” he commented. Kihyun, who was sitting next to him, hummed. He was staring at his own bottle intently. Minhyuk sighed, “and now you know why.” _

 

_ “He was a piece of shit, and he did really shitty things to you,” Kihyun said, “he doesn’t deserve you drinking because of him.” He looked at Minhyuk.  _

 

_ Minhyuk chuckled and leaned against the wall he was sitting against. His apartment was dark. They both drank to a point where light was beginning to hurt them. Plus, darkness fit their current moods better. “I tend to give attention to people who really don’t deserve it,” Minhyuk moved his body to face Kihyun. _

 

_ “I think yours was a bigger piece of crap. I am shocked by the things you told me he did to you,” Minhyuk frowned.  _

 

_ Kihyun was not looking at him, just at his bottle. He shrugged, “it happened, and it’s whatever. I can’t really change it, can I?” _

 

_ Minhyuk suddenly grabbed his chin and made Kihyun turn to him, “yeah, but you shouldn’t let it affect you as much as it does.” _

 

_ Kihyun looked at him in surprise. There was so much passion in his eyes, so much care, but it was showed in a side not often seen in Minhyuk. Kihyun smiled, “it’s so interesting seeing you like this.” _

 

_ Minhyuk blinked in confusion, “like what?” _

 

_ “All serious and such, not the complete ray of sunshine you are at work,” Kihyun explained.  _

 

_ “Ah,” Minhyuk nodded. He smiled at Kihyun, “well, even the sun has to come down every once in a while.” He chuckled. He moved his hand to cup Kihyun’s cheek and Kihyun wondered if Minhyuk was aware that he was doing it.  _

 

_ They were close, close enough that it would probably only take a few short seconds for Kihyun to lean in to kiss Minhyuk. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss Minhyuk. He wondered if Minhyuk would let him. He would never know if he did not try, so he did.) _

 

“You know that very well, Minhyuk,” Kihyun gulped, almost unsure of his words, unsure of how Minhyuk would take them. 

 

Kihyun saw how Minhyuk balled his hands. “I just wish-”

 

“There was not other way, Minhyuk,” Kihyun said. His voice became stern again. He needed Minhyuk to get this. “We were fine for a while. We were perfect, but that was it. We started to break apart. Started to distrust each other and hurt each other and - we weren’t meant to be together forever. It’s that simple.”

 

“I-” Minhyuk turned around to look at Kihyun, “I know, okay?” He looked down, “I know, dang it. I just,” he took a deep breath and let it out, “I know… I just…”

 

“You just what, Minhyuk? Spit it out,” Kihyun said. He really wanted to get this over with, and he felt like he was going somewhere with this. 

 

“I love you, okay? I just want you to know that,” Minhyuk said, looking back at Kihyun, his face serious but still so full of emotion. Kihyun could see his pupils shaking.

 

Kihyun smiled, bittersweetly, in pitty almost, “and I loved you, but you never seemed to get that.”

 

Minhyuk frowned, pouted deeply and said nothing. Only a few milliseconds later passed when Kihyun saw Minhyuk's lips quivering and his eyes watering. Minhyuk was trying not to cry. 

 

Kihyun's stern face fell as concern washed all over his body. He took a step forward, his hand reaching. Kihyun knew not why or what he was planning. 

 

Minhyuk stepped away from him. “Shit,” Minhyuk muttered, wiping a tear, and Kihyun knew it was serious, because Minhyuk never cursed, hated cursing, and hated people cursing. 

 

Kihyun took another step forward. He hated to see Minhyuk like this. It caused his heart to constrict and hurt because he never, ever wanted to hurt Minhyuk. Kihyun never wanted Minhyuk to be sad because of him. “Minhyuk,”  Kihyun gulped, not really knowing what to say. “Are you okay?”

 

Minhyuk looked at him again. Tears were pooling in his eyes. Kihyun doubted he could see. Slowly, Minhyuk shook his head, looking down and letting out a sob. “No, I'm not okay.”

 

Kihyun felt his eyes stinging, but he refused to cry. He took another step to Minhyuk and let out a gasp when Minhyuk pulled him into a hug. A tight hug. Minhyuk wrapped his arms tightly around Kihyun waist and rested his chin on Kihyun's shoulder. He sobbed loudly. 

 

“I fucked up, didn't I? It was because of me that we broke up,” Minhyuk cried. “I fucked up so fucking badly. I didn't want to lose you. I only wanted to keep you all to myself, but then I became the reason you left.”

 

Kihyun sighed, trying to keep his cool, to not break down with Minhyuk. “Minhyuk…” he whispered in a vain attempt to comfort. He did not know what to say. Minhyuk hit it right in the head. Kihyun did do and say some shitty things to Minhyuk, but to him, it felt like nothing next to what Minhyuk had done to him. 

 

“I'm sorry, Ki,” Minhyuk squeezed Kihyun tighter. “I did and said things I know I shouldn't have said, and I'm really sorry.”

 

Kihyun let a stray tear fall. He rubbed Minhyuk's back quietly. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Some time later, Kihyun could not tell how long, Minhyuk and him were sitting on the couch, on opposite ends, with small cups of tea warming their hands. Their crying fest was over, and all that was left was the cloud of awkwardness and post-breakup tension. 

 

Kihyun would rather this than what they had before though. 

 

“So now it’s really over,” Minhyuk said as he stared at the tea. Kihyun prepared it, and he was about to tell Minhyuk to drink it as if it was his problem whether Minhyuk drank it or not. 

 

Kihyun hummed and nodded, “yeah, it is.”

 

“I’m,” Minhyuk paused and rubbed his finger against the rim of the cup, “sorry for all the struggle I have caused. It was crappy. I shouldn’t have. I’m-” He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, “I guess I should start trying to feel happy for you. I should… be glad you’re happy with him… with Wonho, Ho-something, whatever.” 

 

Kihyun smiled softly. Minhyuk was trying, and he appreciated that. He sighed, turning to look at his own cup. He tapped on the side of it and watched the ripples form. “You were good for me, Minhyuk,” Kihyun said softly. From his peripheral vision, he saw Minhyuk turn to him. “For a while,” Kihyun continued, “like a bandaid is to a wound. You helped me heal... but there comes a time where we must get rid of the bandaid or else it becomes icky and disgusting and it hurts to take off. You have to rip it off.” Kihyun looked at Minhyuk, “I had to rip you off, and God,” he shook his head in disbelief, “it hurt like hell to do that.” 

 

Minhyuk nodded and sighed, “I guess that’s what I should do with you…”

 

Kihyun nodded back, “that would be ideal…” He turned to face the blank TV that was in front of the couch. He took a sip of his tea. He thought of all the memories he had with Minhyuk before they ever started dating. “We were kickass friends before we ever got together. It’d be nice to try to return to that,” Kihyun said. 

 

“It’d be hard,” Minhyuk muttered, drinking from his cup.

 

“Yeah, it would,” Kihyun looked down at his drink. He should not get his hopes up.

 

Minhyuk sighed, “we could try… I am willing to try.” 

 

Kihyun looked at Minhyuk. He saw hope in Minhyuk’s eyes. “Yeah,” Kihyun smiled, “I am willing to try, too.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Having that conversation with Minhyuk felt liberating, but there was still something that Kihyun felt was tying him down. He finally revealed his relationship with Hoseok to the rest of the parlor. They all congratulated him and Jooheon yelled at Hyunwoo about winning a bet they had. They were all left stupefied when Minhyuk congratulated him with a smile and a friendly pat on the back.   

 

Hoseok revealed his relationship with Kihyun in his social media account by posting a picture they had taken together during Christmas time. The big Christmas tree behind them. Hoseok leaning down and kissing him. His hands on the belt loops of Kihyun’s pants. Kihyun’s hands were holding Hoseok’s scarf. 

 

Kihyun said that only famous Instagram people did that. Hoseok begged to differ and said again that he was not famous. Kihyun did not care and still teased Hoseok about it. 

 

There were some negative comments. A few were of people crying over Hoseok being taken. Most were of people being supportive. Kihyun spent a whole hour making fun of the negative people while leaning against Hoseok on the couch of Hoseok’s apartment. It was comfortable there. Kihyun visited the apartment more often than he would like to admit. He told Hoseok he did it for the bunnies. 

 

Kihyun liked this. He liked this a whole lot. Being with Hoseok. He enjoyed it. He always looked forward to the next day and he wondered if it was possible that they could last. It was a future that Kihyun saw more possible the more time he spent with Hoseok. He wanted them to last. He wanted them to stay together. It scared him that anything could end them. 

 

Kihyun, irrationally or not, thought that if they ended, it would be because of him. 

 

Hoseok would find something out or Kihyun will do something Hoseok did not like, and just like that, they would be over. 

 

Kihyun did not want that. He wanted them to actually last, healthily. Any healthy relationship required honesty, so Kihyun might as well start there.

 

“I need to tell you something,” Kihyun suddenly said to Hoseok when they were sitting together watching a movie in Hoseok’s apartment. 

 

Hoseok grabbed the remote and paused the movie. He must have been able to tell that Kihyun was going to tell him something serious by the way his voice sounded. “What is it?” He asked softly, turning his upper half to Kihyun. 

 

Kihyun looked at the TV and gulped. He fiddled nervously with Sharp Gun’s ear, who was lying comfortably in his lap, moving its whiskers. “Minhyuk…” Kihyun breathed out. He almost started with, “you know Minhyuk?” but of course Hoseok knew who Minhyuk was. Hoseok admired his tattoo work. He was the reason Hoseok even came to the parlor in the first place. Kihyun was surprised, that even with so much admiration, Hoseok had still not gotten tattooed by Minhyuk. Hoseok did say that now he only wanted Kihyun to tattoo him, and Kihyun guessed that he was glad. Minhyuk tattooing Hoseok would be so awkward in Kihyun’s book at the moment. 

 

Hoseok put a hand on Kihyun’s thigh, as a reassurance to let him continue. Kihyun looked at him. “Minhyuk and I,” he said softly, “we used to…” He looked down again. He took a deep breath and looked back a Hoseok. “We used to date,” he blurted out, quickly, almost quick enough to be ineligible. 

 

Hoseok narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, a little confused. For a second, Kihyun wondered if Hoseok understood what he said. “Okay…?” 

 

Kihyun blinked.  _ Okay…? _ Now it was his turned to be confused. He expected a bigger reaction. A bit of anger. A raised voice. He gently put Sharp Gun on the floor, who did not move after being let go of, and turned to face Hoseok. “Me and Minhyuk used to date,” Kihyun repeated. “But that was a really long time ago and I don’t have feelings for him anymore. I can promise you that,” he quickly added, using hand motions in front of him. “I just really felt like I needed to tell you, Hoseok.”

 

Hoseok’s face did not change for a few moments. A thinking frown resided on his face, and it made Kihyun’s head beat loudly and nervously. It changed quickly though, and Hoseok smiled, “okay.” 

 

Kihyun dropped his hands. He tilted his head and felt a little stupefied, “okay…? That’s.... That’s it?”

 

Hoseok’s eyes widened, “w-what did you expect?”

 

_ You standing up, yelling, asking why I still worked with my ex, demanding to quit my job and never speak to anyone there ever again. _ “I don’t know,” Kihyun muttered, “a little jealousy?”

 

Hoseok nodded slowly, “I see… well, it does feel a little weird, now knowing that my boyfriend works with his ex.”

 

Kihyun could see it. The jealous fit. “I swear though! We are not like that anymore. Haven’t been for a long time!”

 

“I know, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok smiled. He put his hand on Kihyun’s shoulder, “I trust you and I believe you.” 

 

Kihyun’s tense shoulders slumped. He let out a breath he forgot he had been holding. “You do?” 

 

Hoseok nodded, “of course. What kind of relationship would this be if I didn’t trust you?” 

 

Kihyun looked down. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said. A bad one, an unhealthy one, one like Kihyun had had before. 

 

Hoseok smiled, “yeah… so… when did you and Minhyuk break up then - if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

Kihyun looked at him. He shrugged a little, “more than a year ago or so.”

 

His mind spoke to him,  _ “so soon?” _ Kihyun gasped. 

 

( _ “So you used me, right? You used me to get what you wanted, didn’t you?” _

 

_ Younger Kihyun shook his head in denial. He sputtered a mess that was supposed to be his defense. _

 

_ “Of course you did, because that’s what you do, don’t you? You use people. You get close to them to get what you want, and once you’ve gained what you wanted, you drop them. You leave them in the dust heartbroken and alone, not fucking caring. Of course, you’re breaking up with me after the class ended. You got an amazing grade. That’s all you wanted from me, right? The grade. You never cared about my feelings. You never cared about anything. You just used me! Like you’ve used whoever was before and whoever will be after me. You fucking trash, Kihyun. A fucking ugly, disgusting mess. Get out of my fucking face. I never want to see your fucked up face again.” _

 

_ And with that, the first man Kihyun thought he had ever loved pushed him out of the way and slammed the door behind him, leaving Kihyun’s insides absolutely broken.) _

 

Kihyun’s eyes widened, and he started shaking his head. “I’m not using you, Hoseok. I swear to that. I really am not. I do like you a lot. I really want to be with you. Maybe we started going out too close to when I broke up with Minhyuk, but I swear, I am not using you to get over him. That’s not it at all.”  _ I never used him to get a good grade in that major class. I never used Minhyuk to succeed in my apprenticeship, and I am not using you to get over Minhyuk, I swear. _ Kihyun was hyperventilating. 

 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Hoseok gently grabbed Kihyun’s face. “I know that, baby. I absolutely know that. You don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry I asked that question. I shouldn’t have. I don’t care that you dated Minhyuk. I care about you and only you.”

 

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” Kihyun said, but he was not sure who he was telling it to. 

 

Hoseok pulled him to a hug. Kihyun’s face landed on Hoseok’s chest. Through his ear, he heard the pace of Hoseok’s steady heartbeat. He calmed down listening to it and to Hoseok’s soothing words as he ran a hand through Kihyun’s hair and kissed the top of his head. 

 

Eventually, Kihyun hugged Hoseok back, and they stayed like that for a few minutes. Sharp Gun had left their side awhile ago. Probably, looking for Ramen, Kihyun thought, who was also hopping about the apartment. 

 

“Are you feeling better, love?” Hoseok asked softly. 

 

Kinhyun nodded slowly, “I am. Sorry you had to experience that. I don’t know what came over me.” He felt embarrassed. He waited for Hoseok to make fun of him. 

 

Kihyun felt Hoseok shook his head, “don’t be sorry, baby. I’m here for you always, and I hoped I helped you out of it… a little?”

 

Kihyun smiled, pulling Hoseok closer, “you did help. Thank you.” Hoseok hummed, still running a hand through Kihyun’s hair. Kihyun sighed, his breath still a little shaky but better. 

 

_ You’re different, Hoseok, better. Just what I could have ever hoped for. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jooheon squeezed Changkyun’s hand tightly. Jooheon screamed in pain and squeezed Changkyun’s hand tighter. Changkyun hissed and patted Jooheon’s hand with his free hand. “You’re doing great, Jooheon,” he said, a little pained. 

 

“This fucking hurts! Why did I ever agree to this?” Jooheon yelled. 

 

Kihyun put the tattoo machine down and rolled his eyes, “stop being a wuss. Gosh, it’s not like you’re giving birth or something.” 

 

Jooheon panted as he caught his breath, “it’s a knee tattoo! Do you have any idea how painful that it?!”

 

Kihyun laughed. Minhyuk, who was next to him holding on to the leg Kihyun was not tattooing, laughed, too. Hyunwoo, who was holding on top Jooheon’s other hand, chuckled. “Jooheon, I think you forgot we all have knee tattoos,” Kihyun said, smiling, “except Changkyun - yet.” He winked at Changkyun. Changkyun rolled his eyes. 

 

“Me and Kihyun have tattoos on both of our knees, everywhere,” Minhyuk patted Kihyun’s shoulder. 

 

Kihyun looked at him and nodded, humming, “those fucking hurt like hell.”

 

Jooheon looked away and scoffed, “whatever. It’s still fucking painfull.” 

 

“Grow a pair then,” Kihyun sighed and took off his gloves, “take over now, Minhyuk. I’m tired.”

 

“Yes!” Minhyuk said cutely and let go of Jooheon’s leg. He stood up and went to wash his hands. 

 

Everyone sans Kihyun watched him go, and Kihyun switched seats to instead be the one to hold Jooheon’s leg. He sighed and patted Jooheon’s leg. “We’re almost done. Minhyuk will have the last round,” he looked up and saw that they were all staring at him. “What?”

 

Jooheon shook his head, “Minhyuk actually answered you normally.”

 

“He patted your shoulder,” Changkyun said. 

 

“He’s not being pouty,” Hyunwoo added. 

 

Kihyun nodded slowly, “uh… huh… yeah.” Kihyun thought they had already gone over this a few days ago. “Thought we had already said we’re cool. That’s why agreed to tattoo you together?” He said, looking at Jooheon. 

 

Jooheon shook his head in disbelief again, “woah, this is actually gonna take some getting used to.” Changkyun agreed.

 

“I’m glad you guys finally worked it out,” Hyunwoo nodded, “I’m proud of you guys.”

 

Kihyun smiled, “thanks…” 

 

Minhyuk came back a few seconds later and sat down in front of Jooheon while he finished putting on his gloves. “Let’s finish this,” he smiled giddily and grabbed the tattoo machine. 

 

“No, I’m not ready,” Jooheon whined and threw his head back. 

 

“Yeah, you are,” Minhyuk only said back before he started tattooing. 

 

Jooheon bit his bottom lip, “is this how you treat your customers? Hyunwoo!”

 

“Of course not,” Minhyuk shook his head, “I’m getting paid then.” He looked up at Jooheon and smirked. 

 

“Ugh,” Jooheon rolled his eyes, “our friendship is worth nothing.”

 

Minhyuk nodded, “exactly.”

 

Kihyun looked at Minhyuk and chuckled. He felt his phone vibrate in this back pocket. “Oh,” he took it out and looked at it. Hoseok had sent him a message.

 

_ ‘Gunhee was given too many various types of rice cakes and steamed cakes, and he can’t eat anymore of them. Do you want to come over and eat them with me?’ _

 

Kihyun smiled at the message. His phone vibrated again as he received another message. 

 

_ ‘Gunhee says we can’t make out though :(‘ _

 

Kihyun laughed. The grin on his face was big enough that his cheeks hurt. 

 

“Hoseok?” Minhyuk suddenly asked. 

 

“Huh?” Kihyun looked at him, “um, yeah, asked me if I wanted to eat something with him today, but,” he sighed, “I’m here though so…” he was a bit disappointed, but he was not going to get out of Jooheon’s tattooing session halfway through it. 

 

“Go,” Minhyuk simply said as he tattooed. He did not sound bitter or angry, not even serious or neutral. It was still a little cheerful, though maybe a bit forced. 

 

Kihyun blinked, “what?”

 

Minhyuk looked at him and smiled, “go. We have everything covered here. I’ll finish up. If you want to, you can go. I think the guys,” he motioned to everyone else with his head, “will be fine without you.”

 

Kihyun looked at the other guys, who were in shock. “Oh, my God,” Changkyun said.

 

“Who are you and what did you do to Minhyuk?” Jooheon continued. 

 

“Hey!” Minhyuk glared at them. Kihyun laughed. 

 

“Leave him alone, guys,” Hyunwoo said with a smile on his face. He looked at Kihyun, “go. It’s fine.”

 

Kihyun smiled at them and stood up towards his things, letting go of Jooheon’s leg. “Kick me and I’ll mess up your tattoo on purpose,” Minhyuk threatened Jooheon. Jooheon nodded nervously.

 

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Kihyun said cheerfully as he put on his jacket. Everyone said their goodbyes. Kihyun opened his messages with Hoseok and wrote back as he left the shop.

 

_ ‘Tell Gunhee I don’t care about his rules. Be there soon!’ _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kihyun ogled at the cutest baby he had ever seen. She was set in her baby carrier on top of the front desk. Changkyun was next to him. He was placed his finger in front of her, and she was trying to reach it, looking at it with the biggest eyes Kihyun had seen on a baby. Kihyun awed and hit Changkyun’s side. “Changkyunnie, have you ever seen a cuter baby before?” He asked. Changkyun looked at him with knitted eyebrows and rubbed where Kihyun had hit him. He shook his head. Kihyun turned his head to face the mother of the baby, “Disney! Why didn’t you bring her sooner?” 

 

Minhyuk was tattooing her arm. She hissed but turned her pained face into a smile as she turned to Kihyun, “we were waiting for her to grow older. She got sick easily her first weeks so we’ve had to keep her sheltered. It was too cold outside. It’s just starting to warm up.” 

 

Kihyun nodded. “She’s adorable,” he nodded as he looked back as the baby. “I think she looks like you,” he stared at the baby and tilted his head. 

 

“Don’t start with that,” Hyungwon shook his head. He was sitting near Minhyuk in his booth area. He technically was not supposed to be there. He was not getting a tattoo today, but if Hyunwoo was not going to say anything about it, nobody was. “If anything, she looks like a cuter than average potato.”

 

Disney laughed. “You kind of make it sound like you think potatoes are cute,” Jooheon said from his own booth. His own client chuckled. 

 

Disney started laughing enough that she covered her mouth. Minhyuk, who normally tried to tune everything around him out and concentrate on tattooing, started laughing, too. It was a cheap attempt for humor, but the light atmosphere made Kihyun crack a smile, too. Hyunwoo, too, who was tattooing in his own booth at the back of the main area, smiled. Hyungwon opened his mouth to defend himself but quickly closed it and turned his body to face the back of the parlor, “didn’t Yoongi say he was gonna come back with snacks? Where is he?”

 

“Probably eating them in my room like he knows he's not supposed to. They’re gone,” Kihyun said, leaning against the counter. Yoongi was also not supposed to be here, but he had been in town staying with Kihyun and had decided to appear midway here midway through Kihyun's shift. Hyungwon turned back around and frowned.

 

(When Yoongi showed up, Hyungwon had already been here for an hour. Jooheon complained of this place becoming a hangout place instead of a place to tattoo. Yoongi winked at him and told him to suck it up. Kihyun was about to beat him up before Jooheon struck back with another comment, clearly not offended at anything. Plus, Hyungwon and Minhyuk were laughing too hard for Jooheon to really do anything bad. Kihyun thought that maybe Yoongi knew that Jooheon would not be offended.)

 

At that moment, the baby started whining and moving on her carrier. “What’s wrong, baby?” Kihyun asked. 

 

“She probably wants to get out of there,” Disney explained. “Can you do me the favor, Ki, if it’s not a problem?”

 

Kihyun nodded. He smiled at the thought of carrying the baby. He took her restraints off and lifted the baby off her carseat. She was a sturdy, heavy baby, and she looked at Kihyun with a frown and chubby cheeks. Kihyun cooed and brought the baby closer. She did not squirm in Kihyun’s arms, but she stared intently at Kihyun’s face. “What are you staring at, baby?” Kihyun asked in a babyish voice, one that he never thought he would ever do. 

 

Minhyuk laughed, “I think she’s staring at your piercings, Kihyun.” The baby reached towards Kihyun’s face in the direction of Kihyun’s lip piercing. 

 

“Woah, woah, no,” Kihyun pulled the baby a little away from him. Minhyuk snickered at him and shook his head, wiping away the excess ink on Disney’s arm and continuing to tattoo. 

 

“She just thinks it’s shiny. She’ll lose interest soon enough. Thank you for holding her, Ki,” Disney smiled. 

 

Kihyun nodded at her and turned his attention back to the baby. Changkyun turned to fix the red polkadot bow on her hair. “Minhyuk and you talking to each other,” he whispered as he fixed the baby’s hair, “that’s still something we’re trying to get used to. Did you guys really work it out?” Changkyun asked him that question a lot. They were all still in complete disbelief.

 

Kihyun nodded, “yeah, I guess so. We’re trying.” He set the baby against one of his arms and used to the other to stop her from reaching his piercings. 

 

Changkyun sighed, “what a relief.” He looked at Kihyun, “I knew you could do it.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Kihyun shrugged and glanced at Minhyuk momentarily, “he’s trying, too. The other day he asked me if I thought Hyungwon liked him. He’s finally seeing it, too, so that must mean that he’s not as hung up on me as before.”

 

Changkyun gasped dramatically, but still as quietly as he could, “are you serious?” Kihyun nodded. “What did you say?” 

 

“I shrugged,” Kihyun said, demonstrating the action, “and said maybe before walking away. Let them keep the flirting game by themselves. Minhyuk might start responding soon.” 

 

“Ugh, that’d be great,” Changkyun nodded. “We’ll have another couple to make fun of.”

 

Kihyun raised an eyebrow as he changed his attention to Changkyun, “you already make fun of them.” 

 

“It’ll be more fun, Kihyun,” Changkyun rolled his eyes.

 

The baby let out a frustrated wail and looked like she was about to start crying. “Oh no, baby, don’t cry,” Kihyun started rocking her and making baby noises. In the process of calming the baby done, Kihyun did not hear the front door open. With his eyes on her, he did not see Changkyun step away from him. He did feel hands making their way around his hips gently. They still surprised him though. “What the-?” Kihyun turned towards the culprit and found Hoseok smiling at him. Kihyun calmed down and smiled. “Hi, baby,” he said before Hoseok kissed him. 

 

Changkyun pretended to vomit next to them. 

 

“Those were my exact thoughts, Changkyun,” Jooheon said. 

 

“Did I really walk in on this?” Yoongi said, leaning against the wall of the hallway, a face of disgust and a hand full of chips.

 

A few other things were said but Kihyun and Hoseok focused on each other. “You look so cute holding the baby. I almost did not want to interrupt,” Hoseok said. 

 

Kihyun chuckled, “it’s Disney’s.” He motioned towards the mother. 

 

Hoseok turned to her, and she smiled at him and waved. Disney had been informed of the status of Kihyun and Minhyuk’s relationship and of Kihyun’s new relationship the last time she was here for her consultation. She was a little bummed at first but then congratulated Kihyun when she heard that he was in a relationship. “She’s cute,” Hoseok said, pointing at the baby.

 

“Damn, so are you I would say, but it’s not appropriate,” Disney said with a smile. 

 

“Hey, he’s mine,” Kihyun stepped closer to Hoseok and glared at Disney, not really meaning it. He knew she was kidding. 

 

Disney and Hoseok both laughed and Hoseok kissed Kihyun’s cheek. Kihyun, in all the process, did not notice the baby reach up again and grab Kihyun’s lip ring and pull. Kihyun yelled in pain, and the baby giggled in glee. Hoseok quickly separated the baby’s hand from Kihyun’s face, and Changkyun took the initiative of simply removing the baby from Kihyun’s arms and holding her himself. Everyone laughed. 

 

“Are you okay?” Hoseok asked between chuckles, grabbing Kihyun’s cheeks and gently passing his finger over Kihyun’s bottom lip. 

 

Kihyun nodded, turning to look at the baby, “she’s a little devil when she wants to be.” 

 

Hoseok laughed, hugging Kihyun from behind again, “she’s cute.” 

 

Kihyun glared at the baby for a second before turning back to Hoseok. “They named her Minnie by the way,” Kihyun whispered to him. 

 

Hoseok looked at Kihyun and then the baby (Minnie) and then back at Kihyun. His eyes were wide, “really?” He looked at Minnie again. 

 

Changkyun nodded as he rocked the baby who was reaching out for Kihyun. The expression on his face could only be described as  _ yikes _ . “Yeah,” Kihyun nodded. 

 

“Wow, they really do like Disney,” Hoseok contemplated. 

 

“Yeah, they had told us that they were going to name her that if she was a girl. Mickey if it was a boy,” Kihyun said and shook his head, “no one really believed that until Disney came with her today.” Hoseok chuckled. “Anyways,” Kihyun patted Hoseok’s chest, “let’s go.” Hoseok nodded and started walking towards the private room. Kihyun pointed at Changkyun, “Changkyun, you’re in charge of babysitting.”

 

“What?” Changkyun narrowed his eyes. 

 

Kihyun smiled and turned to Disney, “until next time, Disney, if you leave before I am done.” Disney smiled and said her goodbyes. Yoongi was standing next to Hyungwon, holding a bag of chips as Hyungwon digged for them. “You can leave if you want to, Yoongi,” Kihyun said. 

 

Yoongi shrugged, “you have the keys to the apartment. I’ll wait.”

 

Kihyun looked at the bag of chips. “You guys do know that you’re not supposed to eat here, right?” 

 

This time, both Hyungwon and Yoongi shrugged with Yoongi saying, “stop us.” 

 

Kihyun looked over at Hyunwoo, “Hyunwoo.” Hyunwoo was technically the one in charge after all.

 

Hyunwoo shrugged, not looking at anything but where he was tattooing, “they’re more your friends. You deal with them.” 

 

Kihyun turned to Minhyuk, second-in-command. He was not looking at Kihyun, and he was a little tense. Kihyun knew that it was because of Hoseok. He was starting to accept that Kihyun was in a relationship, but it was still a little hard for him to see it personally. “Minhyuk?” Kihyun asked to try and get him to do something. 

 

Minhyuk shrugged, and Kihyun could see a little bit of a smile. Kihyun rolled his eyes. “It’s you guys’ shop anyways,” he walked to his private room. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“That's it,” Kihyun’s hair was blinding him. It had grown too long and now Kihyun spent most of the day moving his hair away from his face. It was exhausting. “I’m cutting my hair,” Kihyun muttered as he blew air up to remove his hair from his eyes.

 

“Finally?” Hoseok asked. He was laying down on his stomach as Kihyun tattooed his upper thigh (and ass). 

 

Kihyun nodded, “I’m tired. I’m cutting some off and dying it black. It’s about time.”

 

Hoseok hummed, “why not dye it another color?”

 

“Like what?” Kihyun asked. 

 

“Pink,” Hoseok said, happily, like he was serious. Kihyun laughed. “What?” Hoseok turned his face to try and look at him. “I think you’d look good in pink. Also, I’ve been thinking of dying my hair again. Do something silvery and blue. I think we’d match if you dye yours pink. We’ll be like Team Rocket,” Hoseok laughed.

 

Kihyun scoffed and shook his head, “no, thanks. I went pink in college. Never again.”

 

“Come on, Kihyunnie. It must have been a good look on you,” Hoseok said.

 

“Yeah,” Kihyun nodded, being bombarded with many cringey, old college memories. “I also thought that of my cheek piercings, my labret piercing, and my septum one. Never again. Well, maybe the labret, but still,” Kihyun shook his head, “no. They can be cool, but not on me.” 

 

“Holy shit, you’ve had all those piercings?” Hoseok asked. Kihyun nodded. “Why haven’t you showed me any of those college pictures?”

 

“Because I cringe at myself looking at them,” Kihyun explained.  _ Plus, it was a dark part of my life and I’d rather you see me when I am feeling much happier _ .

 

“Please, I’m sure you used to look amazing even back then,” Hoseok said. 

 

“Fine,” Kihyun raised his eyebrows, “believe what you want. I don’t judge.”

 

Hoseok chuckled. They stayed quiet for a while. The sound of the tattoo machines and whatever mess was happening in the main area being the only things disrupting full silence. “If you want,” Hoseok started, “I could cut and dye your hair.”

 

Kihyun suddenly imagined Hoseok with a pair of scissors standing behind him and then imagined himself bald and Hoseok kneeling in front of him begging for forgiveness. “You’ve lost your marbles, haven’t you?”

 

“I always style my own hair,” Hoseok ran a hand through his now purple hair. It had been brown before that. Black with blue highlights before that. Black with yellow highlights before that. “Has it ever looked bad?”

 

Kihyun thought for a second, “well, you still do have hair, and I ask myself how everyday.”

 

Hoseok laughed, “see, not as bad as you think. My mom is a hairstylist. I would help her every summer since I was eight to when I was eighteen. I almost considered becoming a hairstylist myself.”

 

Kihyun sighed, “I’ll consider it.”

 

“I’ll let you feed Ramen and Sharp Gun actual carrots while I do your hair,” Hoseok said.

 

“Deal,” Kihyun said without hesitation. 

 

Hoseok snickered as he turned on his phone. Kihyun was left wondering what the the hell he had just agreed with. Hoseok’s bunnies were definitely Kihyun’s weakness, and Kihyun hated how Hoseok knew that. Kihyun was definitely stealing them one day so that Hoseok could not use them against him anymore. 

 

“You said that this is one of the tattoos you’ve always wanted to have, right?” Kihyun asked. 

 

Hoseok nodded, “yup.”

 

“Why didn’t you get it done sooner?” Kihyun glanced at Hoseok.

 

“Well, because I have the money now,” Hoseok explained, “and when I had the money before, I just thought that it’d be weird to ask my crush to tattoo my ass cheek.”

 

Kihyun feigned offence, putting a hand on his chest and straightening his back and everything, “Hoseokkie, did you forget that I am a professional and that I literally don’t give a damn where I am tattooing?”

 

Hoseok turned his upper half so that he could look at Kihyun directly, “Kihyunnie, baby, we started thirty minutes late because you couldn’t stop staring at my ass.” 

 

Kihyun slumped over and dropped his act. He finger gunned Hoseok, “touché.” 

 

Hoseok laughed. “Ah, Kihyunnie, really, I love-” He paused. Kihyun froze. “I… really love spending time with you, baby. It’s always fun.” He faced away from Kihyun and looked at his phone’s black screen. From the glare of the phone, Kihyun could see that Hoseok was wide-eyed. 

 

A word away. Hoseok was a word away, and the thought of him actually saying it now filled Kihyun’s heart with a strong feeling. It also made him want to laugh for three days straight considering he was tattooing Hoseok’s ass. So he smiled instead and rubbed Hoseok’s thigh, a little above his knee, “yeah, same…”

 

_ And… I think I love you, too.  _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha I hope it's a worthy ending idk...  
> Can y'all believe this story was originally meant to be only 13K to 18K? LOL  
> Tbh, overall, I am very satisfied with this fic and I hope the readers are too uwu  
> I never went into full detail with Kihyun's first relationship on purpose. I didn't want to. I had some ideas, but I did not want to make the story too dark since it involved a bit of gas-lighting and emotional manipulation and guilt. Plus, I didn't think I could present those ideas with the seriousness and effort and caution they need to be presented with so instead I did that small, tiny scene that gives a tiny taste of what that relationship was like.   
> What was my inspiration for this story...? I think I just imagined Kihyun tattooing Hoseok and was like, oooooooooooooooooh. Then, I imagined Kihyun and Minhyuk arguing surrounded by the other members in the shop and incorporated it here and formed their story. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who read this story from the moment the first chapter was uploaded! Thank you to everyone who commented! Thank you to everyone who left kudos! I'm sad to leave this story behind but I am very happy about how much it was loved. You are all amazing. <3 I don't know when I will post my next kiho fic but I am many WIPs in progress so it will come eventually lol 
> 
> Until then, bye-bye! Thank you again for everything!

**Author's Note:**

> The shortest chapter of this fic, like it's so short it stresses me out lmao. This is just the start lol  
> I can't believe I wrote Kihyuk like that. Like, I don't ship it enough to but here we are lol  
> PSA:  
> \- Most of the tattoos in this fic are not going to be described. I have given you the freedom to use your imagination for them, because I sure couldn't lol  
> \- I have never gotten a tattoo and have never to a tattoo artist. I am doing all of this through research I have done and accounts of other people. Some things are going to be inaccurate but well... every tattoo shop is different you can say lol  
> \- rant to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ClearSkyBlue2?lang=en) maybe...? If you do leave me a message I will answer you lol same with comments  
> \- more PSAs in later chapters maybe
> 
> I have never seen tattoo artist Kihyun. I have seen tattoo artist Wonho though, but I wanted to switch it around and that's why we're here lol
> 
> A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE  
> “Don't worry, Kihyun. I'm your biggest fan. I believe in you.”
> 
> Thank you very much for getting this far. Kudos if you want. A comment is also very appreciated and loved ^.^  
> I think that's it for now so... Until next time, bye-bye!


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